Fire service district gets no, for now

from Northwest Observer / Nov. 18 - Dec. 1, 2021

Bandera Farms Park

by PATTI STOKES

STOKESDALE – Guilford County’s request to approve the creation of a fire service district in Stokesdale was denied at last Thursday’s Stokesdale Town Council meeting by a 2-3 vote. Mayor John Flynt and Mayor Pro Tem Thearon Hooks favored the move, but council members Jimmy Landreth, Derek Foy and Jim Rigsbee were not convinced it was warranted, nor did they feel citizens had ample opportunity to weigh in on the issue before it came to the council for a vote.

As he had done in September, Jim Albright, Guilford County Emergency Services director, attended the Nov. 9 meeting and again made his case for why the county was requesting the change, which would create a service district overlay to the current fire protection district (FPD) within the town limits. According to the resolution, a primary objective for creating fire service districts throughout the county is to “create a more modern, flexible, and efficient method to fund and provide fire protection in Guilford County.” Stokesdale and Kimesville are the only two fire districts out of 24 serving Guilford County that do not have fire service districts, Albright noted.

Stokesdale’s FPD was founded in November 1954 with a tax cap of 10 cents (per $100 property value). In 2015, when Stokesdale citizens were asked to approve a 5-cent increase on the fire district’s tax cap, they overwhelmingly did so; the fire tax has not been raised, however, so remains at 10 cents.

Since Stokesdale FPD serves citizens in both Guilford and Rockingham counties, Councilman Derek Foy asked if fire tax receipts must be separately accounted for, especially if the fire tax rate is different by county. Albright said it isn’t uncommon for fire districts to cross county lines, and stressed, “This is not a request to increase taxes. It is a mechanism by which taxes are collected.”

“But with this overlay, are there two pots that will be need to be managed – Guilford and Rockingham?” Foy persisted.

“It all goes into one pot – we are one district,” Stokesdale fire chief Todd Gauldin responded. “When we do our budget, we take money from both pots and budget line items to serve the entire fire district.”

Councilman Jimmy Landreth expressed concern that adding the fire service district would eliminate the fire tax cap for Stokesdale citizens, while Rockingham County citizens would still have a cap.

“We could go up to 17 or 18 cents, but they could stay at 10 cents,” he said. “I don’t think a lot of people know what’s going on and we’re talking about voting to take a cap off … if you (Gauldin) and Randy (Southard, deputy chief) were going to be there forever, I wouldn’t be concerned about it.”

When Mark Richardson, a Rockingham County commissioner, asked what Stokesdale Fire District’s fund balance is, board member Sammy Pegram answered it is about $1.5 million.

“Is the fire district short of money?” Richardson then asked.

Albright interjected, saying the Stokesdale fire district has been very fiscally conservative and historically paid for equipment and other capital expenses as they go along.

“I’m a strong supporter of the fire department, but you don’t need money; you have the opportunity to raise fire tax 50% (from 10 cents to 15 cents) – why would any tax-paying citizen want ...continued on p. 4

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@northwestobserver to authorize any taxation above what we have?” Richardson asked. “I’m just trying to see the rationale. And, I’m trying to protect the taxpayer.”

Responding to Richardson, Mayor Flynt said both Rockingham County and the town of Stokesdale are projecting significant growth over the next several years.

“Roy Carroll is talking about a million square feet of industrial space. And if you start looking at 2,000+ houses, you’re going to need more firemen and a new fire truck or so. You guys are considering multi-family houses. When you start talking about $1 million or so in reserves, but a ladder truck could cost $1 million …”

Landreth noted that as the town grows, so will its tax base.

“It took the fire department 51 years to get to 10 cents and they could have raised it to 15 cents since 2015, but they didn’t,” Flynt noted, saying history is a pretty good indicator of what can be expected.

Randy Braswell, former Stokesdale council member and mayor, spoke in opposition to creating a fire service district and removing the 15-cent tax cap.

“They have lived for over 50 years with 10 cents,” Braswell said, arguing that citizens should be able to vote on this issue as they did in 2015.

“I would have felt more comfortable if notices had gone out to all the taxpayers, noting the pros and cons,” Landreth said. “I feel we have the best fire department around and if they need funding, I don’t see a problem with it – but, I still want to see a cap.”

Flynt’s motion to approve the creation of a fire service district was ultimately defeated 2-3. In his council comments at the end of the meeting, Rigsbee emphasized he supports the local fire department and is still open to considering the change, but wants citizens to have more opportunity to weigh in on it.

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