By Mannix Porterfield
The Register-Herald Reporter
BECKLEY, W.Va. — Failure to enact Raleigh County’s special fire levy in the May 8 election could push three or four money-strapped volunteer units over the precipice and spark steep increases in homeowner’s insurance, Commissioner Dave Tolliver warns.
“It’s critical,” said Tolliver, a retired paid firefighter who spent 28 1/2 years with the Beckley Fire Department and served 16 years on the state Fire Commission.
In current practice, the volunteer units get $44,000 annually from the state, and $8,000 from the Raleigh County Commission, but Tolliver says the combined payments fall woefully shy of what’s needed to sustain them.
“This is very important,” he said.
“If this levy doesn’t pass, we literally have three or four departments in Raleigh County that are more than likely to go under because the costs of everything — workers’ compensation, insurance on vehicles, fuel and the like — are just going up.”
Tolliver used the Beaver Volunteer Fire Department as an example, noting it answers 500 to 600 calls a year, and with eight trucks to maintain, the $52,000 allotment from state and county simply is insufficient.
“They just can’t keep operating like that,” he said.
Financial troubles are plaguing not only units in Raleigh County but others across West Virginia, where volunteers make up the vast majority of departments, he said.
“Something has to be done,” he said.
“If the fire departments do fold, everyone in their responding area will absolutely see their insurance go up. Some people say this is a scare tactic. It’s a fact of life.”
If some units go belly up, others nearby would respond, Tolliver said, but often they would be 10 to 15 miles away.
Passage would mean higher taxes come on board as of July 1, so units would start getting the benefits this year.
From the first $2 million collected, the fire departments would get an equal share of $130,000, and the second $2 million would be divvied up according to the assessed property value in their coverage areas.
For instance, Tolliver explained, with luxurious Glade Springs in its response area, Beaver would get an extra $250,000 to $300,000, while Bradley-Prosperity would collect an additional $200,000 to $300,000, based on the value of Crossroads Mall. Beckley, which operates the only paid department, would likely get an extra $500,000.
Not a penny of any funds accrued from the levy will go directly into any fire department.
Actually, Tolliver said, the county will hire a fire coordinator at a projected salary of $30,000 to $40,000 and this person will approve all bills sent in by the fire departments.
“For instance, if Beckley says it needs 25 bunker gear — coat, boots, helmet and everything — they would get a price and submit it to the fire coordinator, and he would pay for all equipment bought by every department,” Tolliver said.
Tolliver said he understands the levy will translate into an actual $52 extra assessment on all property — real and personal — valued at $100,000.
“If you have a house worth $150,000, it’s only assessed at 60 percent of that, it would be $90,000, and one vehicle, it would cost you about $52 in taxes that year,” he said.
Any money left over once departments are given their share will be used to install five new fire hydrants in the coverage area of each.
“If you live in a rural area, and get a fire hydrant close to your house, your insurance is going to go down,” the commissioner said.
Black-and-yellow signs asking for support of the levy have sprouted all across Raleigh County, alongside those touting certain politicians.
“You have to give the fire departments credit,” Tolliver said. “They’ve been going door to door in their response areas.”
Republished with permission from The Register-Herald