Council Action Requested:
Approve an Ordinance to merge the Pleasant Valley and Indian Land Fire Districts into one fire district titled the Indian Land Fire District.
Points to Consider:
As part of the second reading, Council voted to establish a 5-member, permanent consolidation board of residents within the fire protection district to recommend an annual budget for the fire district and make any other recommendations they may identify. The Ordinance for third reading has been amended to reflect that change.
In October 2022, County Council received the request that both the Pleasant Valley Fee Board and the Indian Land Fee Board want to merge into one district under the name of Indian Land Fire District.
Since that time, County Council has received several presentations about the future of the County fire service considering staffing needs, response times, and the role of volunteers. The Council also received specific information regarding Pleasant Valley and Indian Land related to their proposed 24/7 staffing model and increasing the present $90 rooftop fee.
In planning this merger, the County would look to unify the Fire Districts into a single, fire service area under the Enabling Act, which it believes will: (a) attract new firefighters (both paid and volunteer); (b) retain existing firefighters (both paid and volunteer); (c) allow for proper training of new and existing firefighters; (d) stabilize service calls and fire station capacity; (e) promote better responsiveness and fire service to taxpayers, residents, and businesses within the county; and (f) more effectively and equitably spread the cost of fire services throughout the county.
Key components of the merger Ordinance is that it:
- Would be effective September 15, 2023
- Establish a 5-member Commission for the District to propose an annual budget within District revenues
- Would make the District an Administrative Division of the County and transfer the limited assets of both districts to the County, that are not already under the County's ownership.
- Pay off the remaining bonds on the Pleasant Valley fire station with County fund balance and allow County Council to determine if it wants to collect payment from the new district or consider a forgivable loan and direct payment towards the planning of a new fire station within the District
- Adjust the district rooftop fee and ERU basis
- Amend the FY24 budget in September 2023 to account for the consolidated budget of the district and the new rooftop fee.
Both the Pleasant Valley and Indian Land Fee Boards have reviewed the components of the merger Ordinance and still remain very supportive of the merger and adjusting the rooftop fee.
Funding and Liability Factors:
Pleasant Valley is presently operating with the $932,428 budget for FY 23 and Indian Land is operating with a $1,201,707 million budget for FY 23 for a combined budget of $2,134,135.
The merged district is proposing a $4,270,151 budget for FY24 to achieve their operating and staffing needs and pay at the higher proposed fire pay.
A budget of this amount will require a higher "rooftop" fee and adjustment to the ERU. County Council has previously discussed raising the rooftop fee to $150 and lowering the ERU to 1,000 square feet, which would generate $3,981,450 between the residential and commercial assessments at this amount.
Recommendation:
Adopt the Merger Ordinance and establish a new ERU structure.