Tax board hires Lake Wylie’s first paid fire chief

By Catherine Muccigrosso

Updated December 6, 2016 5:27 PM

LAKE WYLIE

The Bethel Volunteer Fire Department will have its first paid fire chief despite several volunteer firefighters and residents speaking out against the decision.

In a 6-2 vote the Bethel Rural Fire Tax Board and hiring committee approved hiring 29-year career firefighter William “Billy” Thompson, 47, as the 50-year-old department’s first paid chief. He will work in transition until officially starting Feb. 1.

Margaret Blackwell, chairwoman of the Bethel Rural Fire Tax Board, announced the decision after opening with 30 minutes for public comment at Monday night’s board meeting at Station 1 on Oakridge Road.

Among the comments from about a dozen who spoke, residents said what the board is doing is a “slap in the face” and they need to “check their egos.”

Resident Ellen Goff said the department’s good record speaks for itself.

“It is disloyal and really shabby the way the volunteer department has been treated and raked over the coals for really no reason,” Goff said. “This is a board that has overstepped it’s bounds.”

Barbara Varalli, 68, whose family has owned land in the area for 106 years, urged the board to step back.

“I feel like you are trying to degrade them and disrespect the years of service these guys have given to this community,” she said.

Several residents vowed to work to replace the board members, including Allison Love, councilwoman elect for York County Council Dist. 2. Love has vowed to undo the board decision and on Monday night asked board members for their “voluntary resignations” before she takes office in January.

Bethel volunteer firefighter Jay Kuiper, who was the 2015 Firefighter of the Year, questioned how the organization will work saying the department is like any other nonprofit.

“If you do choose to hire a fire chief tonight, you must be making a decision to start your own fire department,” he said. “You as a taxing arm of a government agency can not simply replace an officer of a corporation.

“I understand the ordinance gives you the right to hire people,” Kuiper said, “but just because you can do something, does not make it the best or most prudent decision.”

But not all comments opposed the decision.

“I’m going to clear the air right now. The issues in this room are not whether we hire a full-time fire chief,” said Mitch Allen, paid firefighter. “The issues go much deeper.”

Naming the new chief

Following an hour in executive session, members voting in favor of hiring a fire chief were tax board members Blackwell, Tea Hoffmann, Ricki Alley, Ed Lindsey and Todd Meek, and Jason Dillon, a part-time paid firefighter. Committee members opposed were Perry Johnston and Tim Sievers, both Bethel volunteer firefighters.

“I’m against the position not the person,” Johnston told the crowd of about 40.

Thompson has been deputy chief of operations for Gastonia Fire Department since 2012, and has been a firefighter there since 1987. He was named 2002 Gastonia Firefighter of the Year, has seven company citations, a Bronze Medal of Valor and a Silver Medal of Valor.

He was the fire chief for Crowders Mountain Volunteer Fire & Rescue. He has fought forest fires in New Mexico and Montana. He is an adjunct instructor of fire protection technology at Gaston College. He has an associate’s degree in Fire Protection Technology, bachelor’s in public safety administration and master’s in executive fire leadership.

“I think we're going to be so blessed to get a guy of this caliber,” said tax board member Ed Lindsey.

Thompson and his wife Candy live in Clover about 14 miles from Station 1 and have three grown children.

“The district is growing at such a rapid pace, I’m looking forward to being part of the growth of the fire department,” Thompson said. “I’m a firefighter, I am here for the firefighters. I will make sure they get the training they need, the equipment they need and they are able to go home after every call.”

The five-member Bethel Rural Fire Tax Board set up to oversee spending in the special tax district announced plans to hire the chief earlier this year. The cost is $120,000 in salary and for a vehicle.

Blackwell said “at this time we do not foresee a tax increase.”

Heated issue

“I spent 45 minutes trying to dissuade them from making this call,” Johnston said. “It’s ill-timed.”

Johnston said it would have been better to hire two full-time overnight firefighters who could carry equipment so volunteers could go directly to the scene to cut response times.

The department currently has three full-time and eight part-time paid firefighters.

The issue of a paid chief has been contentious since the spring. The fire tax board says a paid chief will provide unity, consistency and safety in coordinating efforts of volunteers and paid staff. They see it as a needed step in a growing community.

Volunteers argue they have their elected volunteer chief and the hire is a waste of tax money when volunteers are willing and able to serve the area.

Both the tax board and volunteers agree a paid chief will be needed, but disagree whether that time is now.

Johnston said the plan now is for the volunteers to continue following their bylaws, which includes electing officers at the Dec. 19 meeting.

York County Council in October favored the tax board’s ability to decide on a hire when pressed by volunteers about operational control. Volunteers say they were given control decades ago, but the five-member appointed special fire tax district board was given the same control when it was formed in 2009. The department, with Don Love as chief then and now, petitioned the community in 2008 and 2009 to create the tax district. Community donations and county support flat-lined as call volume and new structures increased.

Tom Smith, who was county councilman representing Dist. 2 at that time, does not agree with the board’s current decision.

“We need to be loyal to these folks,” he said of the volunteers. “The intent of the document you work under was really for you to be the fiscal checks and balances, it wasn’t really to get involved in the operations of the fire department. That’s their job.”

Looking forward

Thompson spoke to the group after the announcement.

“I appreciate all the passion in the room,” he said.

He sees a uniting factor at the heart of the reason they are all firefighters, to “serve the citizens of this community.”

His short-range goal is to bridge the divide the process of hiring a chief has created and long-range goal is to become a highly trained, agressive firefighting source.

“I hope to be a participatory chief, be a part of what’s going on here and give them an opportunity to have their voice,” Thompson said, “and build a bridge that will bring us all together.”

Blackwell said after receiving 12 applicants, the committee made the decision to interview five candidates. One withdrew. Blackwell said Thompson stood out and the committee was unanimous “on who was the best person to hire.”

Catherine Muccigrosso: 803-831-8166, @LakeWyliePilot

BETHEL RURAL FIRE DISTRICT

155.625 CREATION AND ESTABLISHMENT.

(A) There is hereby created and established a special tax district within York County, South Carolina, to be known as Bethel Rural Fire District, which shall include and be comprised of territory in York County embraced within the certain area shown and described on the map of Bethel Rural Fire District in Appendix D, Exhibit 5 of this chapter.

(B) Bethel Rural Fire District is created and established for the purpose and function of providing rural fire protection services therein, and Council is hereby authorized to exercise all powers and to perform all duties necessary to the proper rendering of rural fire protection services therein.

(C) There is hereby created and established a Board of Rural Fire Control for Bethel Rural Fire District, and Bethel Rural Fire District shall be managed and operated by such Board of Fire Control. The Board of Fire Control of Bethel Rural Fire District shall consist of five members appointed by the County Council, who must be residents of the area encompassed within Bethel Rural Fire District.

(D) (1) The members of the Bethel Board of Rural Fire Control shall be appointed to their initial terms as follows: one member shall serve for a term of four years; one member shall serve for a term of three years; one member shall serve for a term of two years; and two members shall serve for terms of one year. Successors shall be appointed for terms of four years. Any member whose term expires shall continue to serve until such time as a successor is duly appointed and qualified. The five members, upon being appointed and qualified, shall take office at which time the terms shall commence and expire as indicated upon the certificate of each member. Any member of the Bethel Board of Rural Fire Control shall be eligible for reappointment. The members of the Bethel Board of Rural Fire Control shall serve without compensation or pay. The Bethel Board of Rural Fire Control shall annually elect a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, a secretary, a treasurer and such other officers as it deems necessary. The Board of Fire Control shall meet no less frequently than quarterly, and at such other times as called by the chairperson or upon written request of a majority of the members.

(2) Any member who shall be absent for 50% or more of the meetings of the Board during any calendar year shall be deemed to have forfeited his or her membership on the Board and shall be removed without further action by the Board or the York County Council. It shall be the responsibility of the Board's secretary to notify the Board, the offending member and the York County Council of such absences, removal and vacancy, and the County Council shall fill the vacancy created thereby in the manner of the original appointment for the unexpired term of such member.

(E) The Bethel Board of Rural Fire Control (the Board) shall be authorized to exercise such powers with respect to the functions of the Bethel Rural Fire District as shall not be inconsistent with the general policies established by the Council, and pursuant to that authority shall be empowered to:

(1) Buy such fire-fighting equipment as the Board deems necessary for the purpose of controlling fires within the funds allocated or made available to the Board for such purposes;

(2) Select the sites or places within the service area of Bethel Rural Fire District where fire-fighting equipment shall be kept;

(3) Employ all necessary personnel and fix their compensation;

(4) Procure and supervise the training of firemen to ensure that the equipment shall be utilized for the best interests of Bethel Rural Fire District;

(5) Be responsible for the upkeep, maintenance and repair of trucks and other fire-fighting equipment, and to that end, shall, as frequently as necessary, inspect such equipment;

(6) Promulgate such rules and regulations as it deems necessary to ensure that the equipment is being used to the best advantage of the service area;

(7) Construct, if necessary, buildings to house the equipment authorized herein;

(8) Purchase, lease, hold and dispose of real and personal property in the name of the county, or alternatively in the name of the Bethel Rural Fire District, for the exclusive use of Bethel Rural Fire District; provided, however, that any such conveyance, lease or purchase of real property shall be by the Council and in accordance with the provisions of S.C. Code §§ 4-9-10 et seq., as amended;

(9) Cooperate or enter into contracts or agreements with any public or private agency which results in improved services or the receipt of financial aid in carrying out the functions of Bethel Rural Fire District; provided, however, that such contracts and agreements shall be subject to approval by the Council;

(10) Annually, at a time designated by the Council, submit to the Council a budget for the ensuing fiscal year adequate to fund the operation and maintenance of the Bethel Rural Fire District. Such budget shall list all funds which the Board of Fire Control anticipates will be available for the operation of the Bethel Rural Fire District. All funds appropriated, earned, granted or donated to Bethel Rural Fire District, including funds appropriated by the Council shall be deposited and expended as provided in this subchapter. All funds appropriated, earned, granted or donated to the Bethel Rural Fire District shall be used exclusively for providing rural fire protection services. All financial procedures relating to Bethel Rural Fire District, including audits, shall conform to the practices and procedures established by the Council;

(11) Annually submit to the Council the amount of millage that it wishes to levy for the upcoming fiscal year within the limits of the maximum amount of millage established by law;

(12) Annually file a detailed report of its operations and expenditures for the previous fiscal year with the Council.

(Ord. 3609, passed 7-20-09; Am. Ord. 3611, passed 11-21-11)

Source: http://tinyurl.com/zxu6acf (Listed under Title XV: Land Usage; Chapter 155: Zoning Code.)