The doubling of fire fees has given the Leland Fire/Rescue Squad a new ambulance and the means to get paramedic-level service and state certification for heavy rescue, fire chief John Grimes says. The fire squad, by the way, operates independently from the Town of Leland, although it does receive considerable help from the town (i.e. new fire stations). It serves several towns in northern Brunswick County and cooperates a lot with Brunswick Emergency Services.
House Bill 429, signed into law in August 2007, established new fire fees in Brunswick County, which increase proportionally with the size of a resident’s home. For example, the owner of a home 1,000 feet or less still pays $50 annually, but for homes between 1,000 and 1,999 square feet, it’s now $100. For 2,000-square-foot homes, the fee is $200; for 3,000 square feet, it’s $300; and so forth. For more details on the law, go to http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2007/Bills/House/PDF/H429v6.pdf.
Date posted: September 1, 2009
User-contributed question by:
Jamie Moncrief
According to the Brunswick County tax office, the town of Leland has a population of approximately 9600. If there were four people in each household, that would be a total of just 2400 taxable residences – and we know there are far more than 2400 homes in Leland and far fewer than four people per household.
So, just using the number 2400, and taking the lowest tax fee of $200 for a 1000 square foot home, that’s just shy of a half million dollars in tax revenue.
$480,000 for an new ambulance and classroom training? And all this on top of their fund raising efforts and unsolicited donations?
Sorry StarNews, the numbers just don’t add up. Time to ask the question again.
Justin, Why don’t you stop by the Leland fire station some time and let them show you their equipment. Do you know how much equipment and training goes in to being heavy rescue certified? Let them show you. Trust me, the Leland fire dept doesn’t waste a cent. Being prepared for any type of disaster is expensive. I gladly paid the $100. When I was trapped in my wrecked car, injured last winter, I took great comfort in knowing that the men and women coming to my aid had the equipment and training to rescue me. Priceless!
Just asking for an accurate accounting of the money “Firefighter”. As reported by MyReporter, the numbers simply didn’t add up. I made no disparaging comments regarding the fine firefighters and volunteers serving the community – just asking for a factual answer to a simple question.
The money goes to a lot of things not just an ambulance and training. So no it doesn’t add up but do you honestly expect them ti list it all on MyReporter?