Published Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Fire district referendum headed for Nov. vote

The Times-Herald

The towns of Sharpsburg, Moreland and Turin have passed resolutions to include a fire district property tax referendum on their November general election ballots.

The Coweta County Commission approved a similar resolution Friday on behalf of the unincorporated regions of the county. "The county will prepare additional information to present to the public in the coming months so that voters will be fully versed on the issue prior to November," said Coweta County Administrator Theron Gay.

A fire district was created in 1974 for the unincorporated areas of the county at that time, plus the towns of Turin, Sharpsburg and Moreland. Grantville, Senoia, and Haralson, not included in the original fire district, later entered into a separate agreement with the county for fire services, funded by property taxes assessed by those cities.

The new fire district tax, if approved in November, will not exceed $20 million and will be repaid over a period of up to 20 years.

"If the tax is approved at approximately a 0.5 mill, which is the current estimate, the cost would be about $20 per year on a home valued at $100,000. A home valued at $200,000 would be taxed approximately $40 per year," said Gay.

"That's a relatively small price to pay considering if we don't make the needed upgrades, our county's ISO rating, which is currently six, could be negatively impacted," said Gay, "which would likely result in much larger increases in property insurance premiums in the affected areas."

The 1974 fire district has not expired, but it is capped at 2.5 mills, Gay said.

"As we continue to grow, and continue to have need to improve the system to meet the needs of that growth, the fire district tax would provide additional funding for necessary equipment upgrades, to include ladder trucks, additional fire stations, and upgrades to existing fire stations, other fire equipment and an 800 MHz radio system," said Gay.

The radio system would provide coverage of the entire county and would also help EMS and the Sheriff's Department, which currently has to rely on car radios for full county coverage.

"It is conceivable that the city of Newnan may have some interest in gaining access to the proposed 800 MHz radio system," said Gay, "but that, of course, would be up to them."