Levy Defeat Could Spark Closures For W.Va. VFDs

April 28--A new twist of the Cold War-era "domino theory" is being applied to Raleigh County's proposed fire levy, one that warns failure to pass it could topple volunteer fire departments, one at a time, in turn triggering huge financial ripples from Beckley to the outlying regions.

Under the plan, the levy would generate some $4 million with special assessments on real and personal property, including commercial land, in an effort to bail out VFDs struggling to stay afloat amid rising utility, fuel, vehicle, equipment, insurance and workers' compensation costs.

The levy is on the May 8 primary ballot and is viewed by non-paid firefighters as critical to their survival.

In current practice, each volunteer unit gets $44,000 from the state and $8,000 from the county. Yet, the workers' compensation premium for one department alone last year was more than $30,000, leaving about $20,000 to keep operations going. Failure to pay results in an automatic revocation of its permit to answer calls.

"If one department goes under, they'll start calling other departments, and all that does is raise the level of financial stress," says Beckley Fire Chief Billie Trump.

"And that pushes a second one, which pushes the third one. You could really have a domino effect for emergency services in the county. Plus, it's going to be a lot of stress on Beckley potentially."

All 14 departments would get $133,000 from the first $2 million in the levy, while the second $2 million would be divvied up on the basis of assessed property values within each jurisdiction.

Which means the high-ticket property in posh Glade Springs would translate into higher bucks for the Beaver VFD. Ditto for Bradley-Prosperity, considering the sprawling Crossroads Mall is in its bailiwick.

Some critics are wondering why the 911 Emergency Operations Center is pegged to get a one time allotment of some $100,000.

Commissioner Dave Tolliver, a retired professional firefighter who spent more than 28 years with the Beckley department, explained that a new federal directive compels the center to get interoperable radio equipment, allowing it to chat freely with other emergency agencies across the state.

After the first year of the levy, the 911 Center no longer would get a share of the proceeds.

Under the levy, Class I real property is taxed at 9 cents per $100 assessed value, while personal property (vehicles and boats) are at 4.5 cents, and commercial land is computed at 18 cents.

A home that is worth $100,000, for example, is only assessed at 60 percent of its actual value, and at 9 cents per $100, the additional tax burden would be $54. A $30,000 SUV, assessed at $18,000, would be hit with a tax of $8.10.

"Look at the excess levy, which raises $17 million," Trump said.

"The fire levy is only about 20 percent of that. I don't mind paying the excess levy for schools. My boys are out of school, but it's necessary for the quality of the county."

Tolliver has been getting an abundance of telephone inquiries, about evenly divided among those in favor of, and in opposition to, the levy.

Many Beckley residents have questioned why they should support a new tax tailored to rescue fire departments outside the city, which has a professional department.

For one thing, says Trump, one never knows when a Beckley resident, traveling outside town, will be an object of rescue by a volunteer unit.

"You never know when that deer is going to run out in front of you and wreck your car," he said.

"You need people to come and help you. That's what it's all about. We've got people in the county giving their time and all they're asking the people in the county is to give them the money to help you."

Suppose, Tolliver suggested, a Beckleyan is involved in a traffic accident in an outlying area and is trapped.

"Who is going to come and extract you from this vehicle?" he asked. "A volunteer department is."

There is a more practical and definite benefit -- Beckley is targeted to get upwards of $700,000 in the levy, inserted into the proposal as an incentive to attract the support of city voters.

"Fire departments are in dire need," Tolliver said.

"Workers' comp is eating them up. Fuel costs for these big diesel fire trucks ($4.17 a gallon at midweek). Insurance on the truck. Utility bills."

Trump says city residents need to understand that not only is Beckley's department in line for a huge chunk of the money, but the town's very existence hinges to a large extent on the people living beyond the city limits, since about 80 percent of the money that falls into merchants' hands, along with medical clinics and the like, comes from non-Beckleyans.

"People who come in and do commerce in Beckley come in to take advantage of medical services, go to movies, spend money, and all that generates the business-and-occupation taxes," the fire chief said.

"When people come in from the county and spend money in the city, that keeps the businesses going. It generates more revenues for businesses. Businesses pay more B&O taxes. We're able to pave streets, work with the police department. We're just taking care of the customers. You have to take the long view of this. If you take the short-sighted view and say, 'I'm going to keep the $1 in my pocket that's going to cost me $100 down the road, that's not wise at all. It's the old goose and golden eggs story. We want to keep the golden eggs coming into the city."

Besides, the chief said, what kind of message would the city send it if kills the levy?

"We get a lot of inquiries from businesses who want to locate in Raleigh County," he said.

"One of the things they're talking about is fire protection. This (levy fate) is going to be in the news. If I'm a business locating in this area, and I see that citizens don't want to support emergency services, that's going to give me pause, especially when Fayette County has been supporting emergency services for 30 years or more. You can see growth along U.S. 19. They're able to provide services without interruption."

Even if a firm is located on the outskirts of Beckley, it can still generate money for the city, Trump said.

"We're right on the razor's edge of something really important," he said.

"People need to support it and they need to look past just a few dollars they're going to spend. Even if you're in Beckley, it's going to cost you money."

Trump cited a phrase often used by President John Kennedy, albeit it didn't originate with him.

"A rising tide lifts all boats," the chief said.

"The fire levy is a rising tide that will lift the entire county, the city and county all at once."

Trump says the paid department theoretically is legally and morally obligated to respond to calls outside town, should a volunteer unit go belly up, but there are limits.

"We're not going to leave the city unprotected," he said.

"We're going to respond in a way that leaves the city protected, yet offers those services to people that need it."

Presumably, it's the smaller VFDs facing the bigger crises, but Trump says this is not the case, and, in fact, the larger departments are in more danger of going under, given the fact their coverage areas are more extensive, their call volumes are higher, and their expenses run higher than the others.

In the worst case scenario, all departments outside Beckley would be unable to help out.

"All of a sudden, we get a call at Crossroads Mall, and all the trucks are broken down at Bradley," Trump said. "Nothing to respond. We can't turn our backs on that. We can't just turn our back on people. If those big departments collapse, which is a likelihood, what are we going to do? It's going to be tough. It's going to be an incredible financial strain on Beckley. The mayor and council would have to make some really, really hard decisions about saying absolutely we're not going to help."

Another benefit Tolliver touted is the provision for five fire hydrants in coverage areas of all 14 departments, provided water lines sufficient to accommodate them are in place.

If the levy is approved, and it takes a 60 percent majority, the county's annual stipend of $8,000 to the 13 volunteer units comes to an end. This would save the county $169,000.

"One thing we've stressed to everyone, not one penny of this money would go to the fire departments," Tolliver said.

"It goes to the county. We will have a fire coordinator."

If a department asked for 20 sets of bunker gear, the coordinator would get bids and approve payment. None of the money can go for dress uniforms, sirens for personal vehicles, Christmas dinners and the like.

"We will have a list on what they can spend this money on," the commissioner said.

Tolliver said the county envisions a coordinator with an accounting degree, or something in that general area, and who has some firefighting experience.

Not only would Beckley be hard-pressed to deal with calls far beyond its jurisdiction, but answering them would be impractical, Trump said. For instance, if a house were swept in flames in a very remote pocket, by the time the truck rolled in, it likely would be reduced to a foundation.

Even if the call were closer to Beckley, the response time would still be a critical factor.

"People say we're using a scare tactic, but it is scary," Tolliver said.

Volunteers must pass muster in the same training as paid firefighters, the two men emphasized, and be well-qualified to deal with all emergencies -- fires, traffic accidents, hazardous materials.

"This is not a scare tactic," Tolliver said.

"But with the price of everything going up, it's a very good possibility that in the next couple of years you could have two to three departments at least in the county that fold."

Trump acknowledged that higher taxes are never popular.

"But we have people paying, like myself, for the excess levy and I don't balk at that a bit," he said.

"I support teachers and I support the educational system. And this is such a small fraction. Everybody will get a benefit from it. I no longer get a benefit from the school system, except my son has a good education. There are so many services provided by the fire departments that may dry up and disappear. They may not be able to provide the same level of services that everybody is used to. I think that's a real possibility and a scary possibility."

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Copyright 2012 - The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.