Friday, August 29, 2008
Published Wednesday, June 18, 2008 in Local
Bonds may fund county fire dept.
The Times-Herald
Coweta voters will be deciding in November whether to approve millions of dollars in bonds to help supplement the Coweta County Fire Department.
The Coweta County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to put the bond issue on the November ballot.
The bonds will be in the $15 million to $20 million range.
Coweta County is "somewhat limited" when it comes to fire department funding, said Coweta County Administrator Theron Gay. The fire department can pay for new equipment through the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, but salaries and operations must be paid for out of the county's fire district tax. Though the fire district encompasses large swaths of land that are now part of the city of Newnan, the tax can be no higher than 2.5 mills. That number was approved years ago when the fire district was voted in.
And 2.5 mills is, quite simply, not nearly enough.
With SPLOST, the growth in the tax digest and "careful management of dollars and fund balances," the fire department has been able to expand and improve "to a certain point," said Gay.
But as Coweta grows, it becomes more and more difficult to meet the needs.
"It is questionable whether the funding source we have relied on will be sufficient to keep the pace," Gay said. There are also some concerns that the county's ISO rating could suffer.
The department needs a new headquarters building and a new fire station in the Corinth/Bohannon roads area, as well as ladder trucks.
"We've talked about funding for a long time," Gay said.
The fire district tax can't be changed without changing the district itself. And the fire department can't be paid for out of the county's general fund because Newnan residents would be paying for fire services they don't need.
But the bond referendum would get around those issues and allow the county to increase funding to the fire department.
In addition to salaries and equipment, the money could be used for upgrading radios to a "trunk system." The trunk systems are expensive, but Coweta can save money by partnering with adjoining counties.
Gay said that if the bond issue were to go on the ballot in November, the county would have to move fast. The next option would be a special election in March 2009.
Gay said the bond amount will be "somewhere between 15 and 20 million." That amount will cover the new headquarters, a radio system, the new station and extra equipment.
Paying off the bonds would require approximately a half mill of property taxes over 20 years, Gay said. That amount was based on an analysis by Merchant Capital.
"I think the number will be somewhat less than that because your digest is going to continue to grow," Gay said. Additionally, other users could help pay part of the cost of the trunk radio system.
"Some of these projects we're just not going to be able to fund through our various options we have," said Fire Chief Dennis Hammond. "There are certainly some things we don't need to put off any longer," Hammond said. The new radio system is one of them. "It is probably our greatest need. This system is not getting any cheaper as time goes on. We have an opportunity to possibly partner with a couple of neighboring counties, saving us a significant amount of money, if we go ahead," Hammond said.
There are some grants that might help with the system, but they are only available once the system is purchased, Gay said.
Commissioner Paul Poole made the motion to put the bond issue on the November ballot.
In other meeting business:
* The board voted to help provide labor to the town of Turin for renovation of the Walter B. Hill School and to assist the city of Senoia with paving.
* The board granted a buffer variance for Piedmont-Newnan Hospital, a buffer variance for Oak Hill Professional Park, a lot width variance for Twelve Parks, and a buffer variance for Kudzu Productions. The board also granted a conditional use permit for a church at 417 Chestlehurst Road in Senoia.
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Newnan residents would still be paying
6/20/2008
If the half mil increase in property taxes to pay for the bonds is county-wide, Newnan residents and businesses would still be paying for services they don't need. Some Newnan residents, though not all, are part of the current fire district and pay the 2.5 mils in property taxes even though they are also paying for the city's fire service. If Newnan residents are to be required to pay off the bonds, they would simply be paying even more for services they “don’t need.” I don’t believe there is anything stopping the county from creating a new service district for those parts of the county that use county fire services, which I believe is the whole county except the City of Newnan. Why doesn't the county do that and simply levy what is needed to cover the costs for those services in those areas to those people that use it? Why do Newnan residents and businesses have to pay for this service when they are already paying for it with the city? Countywide services should be paid for by all residents of the county, no doubt about it. But if Newnan residents are paying for a service provided by the city, they shouldn't have to pay for that same service by the county.
Posted by Let's be clear at 7:50 AM