By April Bethea
The Charlotte Observer

MECKLENBURG, N.C. — Mecklenburg leaders may revamp the county's volunteer fire departments, a sign that the traditional network of stations may one day disappear along with the rural landscape they once covered.

Time has already brought some changes.

Volunteers often commute to jobs that keep them from responding, and residents give less to fundraising bake sales and barbecues. Also, newcomers often believe their taxes already fund departments, though county money only supplements their operations.

Now county commissioners are stepping in. After years of concerns, one department has fallen under state scrutiny for failing to send enough manpower on emergency calls.

One idea is to create fire tax districts in unincorporated areas to help departments pay for equipment and firefighters. The county also could contract with fire departments in Charlotte and towns to cover the outlying areas.

"We consider this a serious problem," said the county's general manager, Bobbie Shields. "We have to take a very close look at fixing it, and hopefully we can fix it for sure this time."

Shields said he hopes to make a recommendation to county commissioners in March or April, but it's unclear what will happen. Years ago, an effort to help departments failed, in part, because towns could not agree on the new taxes.

Heart of communities

For decades, volunteer departments stood at the heart of many communities. Neighbors responded to fires and wrecks. Other times, they appeared at community events like parades.In Mecklenburg County, 17 departments serve more than 136,000 residents and businesses over nearly 277 square miles, the bulk of which are in unincorporated areas.

The stations take thousands of service calls each year. The Huntersville Volunteer Fire Department responded to 1,015 incidents in the year ending in June 2007. At the Robinson station in eastern Mecklenburg, crews went to 1,190 incidents in 2006 and 1,377 last year.

Supporters of volunteer departments say their labor is a bargain for communities. The county gives each volunteer department an annual subsidy of $87,500.

Beyond that, the stations rely on fundraising, but response can be limited.

For example, the Robinson department sent out 6,200 fundraising letters asking residents and businesses in its service area to donate $30 to the department. But only 500 came back with donations, said Chief Robbie Honeycutt.

Residents living in unincorporated areas already pay a special tax for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to respond to those parts of the county. It costs 17 cents per $100 property valuation.

Through mutual aid agreements, the Charlotte Fire Department does assist other fire agencies when asked, said Deputy Chief Rich Granger.

But Granger said the department doesn't automatically respond to service calls in the outlying areas because the first priority is to protect those within the city limits who are paying for the fire service.

"We would be happy to answer calls in the county on a regular basis," he said. "But they would have to pay for the same level of protection."

Fire tax proposal

Mecklenburg previously has proposed a fire tax to provide a stable source of money for the volunteer departments as the county grew.

A 2002 plan called for seven districts with each town recommending a tax for their area, and the county contracting with the towns to provide the fire service.

At the time, a Davidson official estimated a 3- to 4-cent tax rate and town leaders endorsed the fire tax. For a $200,000 home, the tax would have been $60 to $80.

But Shields said the proposal didn't move forward for many reasons, including conflicts over the size of the tax and who would collect the levy. Shields said there was some support for the service district, but the county was hoping to have all municipalities on board. The towns would have needed to give their approval to participate.

More recently, the towns of Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville did a preliminary study on fire tax districts, but haven't moved forward on any proposal, said Greg Ferguson, Huntersville's town manager.

Wake County created a single tax district in 1999, which now covers nearly all unincorporated areas, plus the town of Wendell, said Fire Marshal Ray Echevarria. The tax raises about $18 million annually, which Echevarria said has helped to hire firefighters, purchase equipment and pay for other capital needs

At a retreat this month, some Mecklenburg county commissioners supported reorganizing the volunteer departments. Options also include changing the way the county distributes its $1.4 million budget for the departments.

Commissioner Bill James said he ultimately wants the volunteer departments to be absorbed by the municipality departments.

Shields said county leaders want to do what's best for residents. "It might not entail more money from the county," he told the Observer this week. "It might just be a new restructuring. It might be new partnerships. ... At the end of the day, we want to make sure people have adequate fire protection."

Staffing in question

The discussions come at a critical time for the Robinson department.

The N.C. Department of Insurance put the department on probation after a 2006 inspection found it didn't always have four firefighters respond to calls, the minimum needed to keep its insurance rating.

Honeycutt said Robinson sometimes only has three firefighters available for calls during the day. He'd like to hire firefighters who can work during the day when the volunteers are at their regular jobs — a move catching on at other departments.

For example, the Matthews Volunteer Fire Department has six paid employees and about 22 active volunteers, said Assistant Chief Trim Sawtelle.

Robinson officials originally were told to submit a plan to the state by next week to show they could meet the minimum manpower requirements. But the deadline was pushed back because the county decided to examine all volunteer departments.

Robinson now will come up for review in July, said Kristin Milam, spokeswoman for the insurance department.

In the meantime, Honeycutt said the department will use about $21,000 of its savings to hire two firefighters. They'll join the two part-timers already on staff. "I'm just glad (the state is) giving us time to try to recoup," Honeycutt said.

Copyright 2008 The Charlotte Observer