Board adopts cost-share policy for fire department funding

A new County policy aims to equitably share the cost
of fire department funding between the County and its towns.

 

A new County policy calls on the County and its towns to pay their fair share of fire department funding in Johnston.

Under the policy, which County Commissioners adopted on Jan. 5, the County and towns would pay based on their share of a fire department’s call volume, property values, population and square miles.

“I think everybody’s agreed that it is a good formula,” said Commissioners Chairman Patrick Harris, a former Smithfield fire chief. “It does the job it needs to do.”

The cost-share formula gives the greatest weight to call volume, 40%, followed by real and personal property values, 30%; population, 20%; and square miles, 10%.

Here’s how that might work: Say a town accounts for 60% of a fire department’s call volume, 70% of its real and personal property values, 55% of its population, and 20% of its total square mileage. Using those figures, the town’s share of a $1 million annual operating budget would be 58%, or $580,000. The county would pay the remaining 42%, or $420,000.

Ryan Parker, director of Johnston County Emergency Services, told Commissioners the County was prepared to meet its obligations under the policy. “The County would pay its share as proposed in the formula,” he said. “Then the rest of it would fall on the town to pay the town’s share.”

But towns aren’t bound by County policies, which could jeopardize a fire department’s funding if a town balks at paying its fair share.

“If a town chooses not to participate, it does put the fire department at risk of not receiving the full funding,” Parker said.

Still, in response to a question from Commissioner Ted Godwin, Parker said no town had suggested a different formula. “We have not received any alternatives to the formula as proposed,” he said, adding that each town had a representative on the committee that drafted the policy.

With the County, towns and fire departments starting to think about their 2026-budgets, Commissioner Butch Lawter said now was the time to adopt the policy. “Then next year, we can consider if this is the correct formula or if there needs to be adjustments made,” he said.

The vote to adopt the policy was unanimous.

Page last updated on:  January 14, 2026