December 10, 1990 - 7:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

Meeting of the Johnston County Board of CommissionersDecember 10, 1990The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session Monday, December 10,1990, at 7 oclock pm at the Thanksgiving Fire Department located at the intersection of NCHighway 42 and SR 1720, Wilders Township, Johnston County, North Carolina with the followingmembers presentNorman C Denning, Chairman, Frank B Holding, Vice Chairman, James W Cash, John MBooker, DVM and Jerry F Wood, DDSAbsent NoneAlso Present Richard B Self, County Manager, Eleanor N Creech, Clerk to the Board,Joyce H Ennis, Deputy Clerk and Dewayne West, Director of Emergency ManagementThe Chairman called the meeting to order and opened the Public Hearing concerning thedesignation of fire tax districts for the service areas known as Thanksgiving and ShoeheelPUBLIC HEARINGAdvertised The Smithfield Herald - November 30, 1990Clayton News -Star - December 4, 1990Johnstonian Sun December 5, 1990Kenly News - December 5, 1990Attendance Approximately 60 peopleChairman Norman C Denning stated the purpose of the Public Hearing is to obtaincitizen input concerning the levy of tax for fire protection in the Thanksgiving and Shoeheelservice districtsThe Chairman called on Dewayne West, Johnston County Fire Marshall and Director ofEmergency Management, to review the requirements of service districts and the authorizationunder NC General StatutesMr West outlined the criteria which fire departments must meet and state regulationsfor ISO ratings He explained the lower the rating the fire department recieves, the greater thebenefit to homeowners and commercial business within the district, relative to insurancepremiums He emphasized the added revenue from a district tax could enhance the quality of fireservice by providing additional and more up -to -date equipmentChairman Denning commented on the dedication of fire and rescue volunteers throughoutthe County saying these are special people who care for their neighbors and go through extensivetraining in order to save lives He explained the public hearing would be held in two parts withcomments on Thanksgiving district first, followed by Shoeheel He called on Ray Earp,Thanksgiving Fire Chief and others from Thanksgiving district for commentsThanksgiving DistrictRay Earp, Fire Chief, spoke in favor of the tax stating the funds are necessary inorder to update equipment for the fire department He noted he had opposed a tax in the past,but now sees no alternative if the department survives and keeps a low ISO ratingJohn Edwards asked how the rate would be determinedDewayne West explained three residents of the district would be appointed ascommissioners, and they would review the fire departments budget each year to determine the taxrevenue needed, then set the rate accordingly He noted that although the law allows a tax up to150, the Fire Comnission and the Board agreed some years ago to limit the rate in JohnstonCounty to no more than 8¢100 valuationMr Edwards recommended an 80 tax for the first year in order to get the department ingood conditionWade Boughman, Ray Wadsworth, and Allen Jeffries also spoke in support of a districttaxFire Chief Earp relayed a message of support from Paul Dunn who was unable to attendthe HearingThere being no further comments, the Chairman closed the portion of the Public Hearingon Thanksgiving DistrictiDecember 10, 1990 ContinuedAt this time Chairman Denning recognized Linwood Hodge, Fire Chief, Bethany FireDepartment Shoeheel District and invited comments from Chief Hodge and others from theShoeheel DistrictShoeheel DistrictBethany Fire Chief, Linwood Hodge, spoke in support of a tax in his district stressingthe need for additional equipment for the fire department He noted that often federal and stategrants ark available; however, they require match money, and tax revenue could be used for thispurposeRose Johnson whose father is a fireman, stressed the comnunity needs to provide thebest firefighting equipment available for the men who risk their lives fighting fires Shestrongly supported the tax for fire protection in the Shoeheel districtBilly Batten, Larry Medlin, Jo Murray, Ray Johnson, and Jimmy Batten each added theirsupport s ying the tax is needed to meet the needs of the Bethany Fire Department and ShoeheelDistrictCip Boykin thanked the Board for caning to the community and explaining how the taxwould be determined and used He stated, in his opinion, lack of understanding and poorcomnunica4n were the reasons fire tax referendums failed in the pastThere being no further comments the Chairman closed the Public Hearing and thankedeveryone for their remarksIn response to a question on how and when the Board would make a decision on levying atax in these districts, it was explained that the Commissioners would make a decision after allthe public hearings are heldCommissioner John M Booker pointed out that by holding the hearings in thecommunities, the citizens have a good opportunity to let the Board know their wishes He notedthat in this hearing, he has heard very definite community support for a district tax for fireprotection from both conmmunitiesChainnan Denning again thanked everyone for coming, and upon a motion made and dulyseconded, the Board adjournedNorman C Denning, ChairmanJ e AM nnis, Deputy Clerk659DetailsAnnotationsEntry PropertiesModified11192013 121235 PMCreated3312003 85402 AMTemplateMinutesFieldsMinutes - TypeSpecialMinutes - Date12101990Book18