Volunteers, tax board heated over firefighting roles

Firefighting in Lake Wylie is changing, but not everyone agrees it’s for the better.

The Bethel Rural Fire District Board plans to hire a fire chief by the end of the year. The Bethel Volunteer Fire Department says it’s unnecessary at this time to hire chief officers and says the fire board is overreaching its role being involved in day-to-day operations.

“We are reaching out to the taxpayers we serve every day and asking for their support in returning the tax district board to their intended role to support the volunteer fire department, and eliminate their intrusive and unnecessary role as a body that governs it,” a department press release states.

The department’s statement urges residents to come to its May 5 meeting to learn more about the current state of the relationship between the department and tax board by attending the May 5 meeting. They also are urging taxpayers to contact York County Councilman Bruce Henderson to “redirect the members of the tax district boar their focus should of support, not attempting to manage the department.”

“We are reaching out to the taxpayers we serve every day asking for their support in returning the tax district board to their intended role to support the volunteer fire department, and eliminate their intrusive and unnecessary role as a body that governs it,” the statement reads.

Firefighters view

Chief Don Love, who returned to his position in January, said his group has concerns with how the fire board wants to run the department. Love served as chief for six years prior to re-election, after four years away from the post. He’s been involved with the volunteer unit for five decades.

“We're just trying to get things squared away between us and the tax district,” he said. “They're trying to run the day-to-day basis of the fire department, and that’s not what the tax district was formed for.”

Public donations and a county stipend funded the department before 2009, when Lake Wylie voters approved a special tax district. The department requested that district, gathering petition signatures in late 2008 and explaining why the more steady funding source would benefit the area.

Part of the special tax district included a new fire tax board set up by and reporting to the county. Five residents within the fire district would be appointed to staggered, four-year terms.

For the 2015-16 fiscal year, the tax district budget is almost $680,000. About a quarter of that total, or $170,000, is budgeted for salary and benefits. The county also directly contributed more than $82,000 to the department. Budgeted items for the department include five sets of turnout gear, fire hose, nozzles and other supplies.

Firefighters say the tax board is expanding it role. They see the board as an oversight group to support the department and taxpayers, but not operations managers. Love said the department already had to change its bylaws once when the board considered a paid supervisor as a captain, but the department only allowed for one captain.

Now, Love said, bylaws would have to change again if a deputy chief and full-time chief become part of the department.

“It's to do with the manpower,” Love said of recent concerns. “They're looking to hire some people and get rid of some volunteers, some officers.”

Tax board view

The tax board has five seats. A recent chairman resignation means only four are filled. A new chairman will be elected May 4.

Margaret Blackwell, appointed to the board almost two years ago, said her group is responsible for paid firefighters within the department and isn’t at odds with volunteers. There are varying funding sources that apply to paid staff vs. volunteer members.

“There is a volunteer fire group, and then there is a paid staff that report directly to the board,” Blackwell said. “I’m not aware of any outstanding issue.”

The board is responsible for the 2 percent local tax. The county operations money goes to volunteers, as does a state allotment volunteers must apply to receive. The department now has three full-time and six part-time firefighters, and about 60 volunteers.

Blackwell said there have been three fire chiefs since she joined the board. The board had two firefighters when she joined, but none now. The chairman who resigned was a former volunteer. She joined not to overhaul fire service, but to learn more about it and help ensure a growing community has the coverage it needs.

An improved Bethel insurance safety rating, new station and upgraded equipment in recent years show signs of a growing department. Part of that growth is the fire chief position in the 2016-17 budget, approved by the tax board and county. Interviews will be held late in the year with the chief beginning Jan. 1, 2017.

“There is money for a paid fire chief who would oversee the entire district,” Blackwell said.

Looking ahead

A point where volunteers and the board agree is more growth is coming. At some point the department will have paid staff around-the-clock. Love said a full paid staff isn’t “the best thing for the tax dollar” now.

“Eventually we're probably going to do that, but they don't have the money to do that,” Love said. “They can't afford to pay somebody 24/7 and have enough manpower to cover the area.”

Blackwell agreed community growth is a concern, but couldn’t say when the long-volunteer unit would give way to a full-paid staff.

“With that growth we’re going to have to look at protection 24-7,” Blackwell said. “Now I can’t tell you how far down the road that’s going to be.”

As volunteers and the tax board try to sort out differences, varying possibilities could impact fire service. A main one is incorporation, with a group in Lake Wylie looking into the possibility of creating a town. A town could create its own department, contract with Bethel or another service.

A new municipality also would create uncertainly for the tax board, since the county couldn’t charge taxes within the district where properties fall within town limits.

The tax board’s quarterly meeting is May 4 at Bethel Station No. 1 on Oakridge Road. The following night, the fire department holds its quarterly business meeting there.

Firefighters invited tax board members to the May 5 meeting, where Love hopes to have some resolution on how the groups can work together.

“We want them to come to us,” Love said.

Blackwell said her group is interested in working closely with volunteers, even as it manages paid staff as the tax board was set up to do.

“Our purpose is not to get rid of the volunteers,” she said. “Our purpose is to work with the volunteers in a cooperative way.”

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Volunteers, tax board heated over firefighting roles."