Public hearing on rural fire fee postponed by Lewisburg officials

July 23--LEWISBURG -- Citing "new information," Mayor John Manchester asked city council to postpone a scheduled public hearing and second vote on an ordinance establishing a rural fire fee.

If it is ultimately approved, the fee would be assessed against owners of property located in a 67-square-mile "first due" area outside the city limits and served by the Lewisburg Volunteer Fire Department (LVFD).

First publicly discussed in February, the fire fee proposal has seen a number of changes already. In its latest incarnation, the ordinance was slated for the second of a required three readings Tuesday evening, with a public hearing to precede city council's vote. Now, the hearing and vote are scheduled for a special meeting set to begin at 7 p.m. on Aug. 11.

Much of the public input on the controversial ordinance has centered on the amount of the fees, with fewer grumbles about the actual establishment of an annual fee. Even without the public hearing on Tuesday, several residents of the first due area were granted the opportunity to speak.

In a brief statement, Charlie Green, former president of the Greenbrier County Planning Commission, said he has perused the legal documents connected to the city of Bridgeport's adoption of a similar ordinance. He said, while the state Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the imposition of the fee, one word that kept cropping up in the high court's ruling was "reasonable." Green suggested that Lewisburg's fee is not reasonable.

Most of the criticism of Lewisburg's proposed fee revolves around the 14-cents per square foot assessment on commercial, governmental, industrial and multi-family residential buildings. Critics have pointed out that the Bridgeport ordinance upheld by the court sets that per-square-foot fee at 6.75 cents, less than half of what Lewisburg's ordinance calls for.

Lewisburg's proposed ordinance also sets annual fees for one- or two-family residences at $120 for a home measuring less than 2,500 square feet, $144 for a home measuring over 2,500 square feet and an additional $75 for a detached outbuilding exceeding 1,000 square feet on those properties.

One of the handful of speakers at Tuesday's meeting, Echols Acres homeowner Russ Siegel, expanded on the usual critique, calling for a special audit of the LVFD's finances and suggesting that fire companies in Lewisburg, Ronceverte and White Sulphur Springs be forced by an act of the Legislature to consolidate into a single fire department serving the entire region.

Siegel said he can see no reason the LVFD can't continue to operate out of the existing downtown firehouse, adding that construction of a new firehouse -- which is in the planning stages -- should be put to a popular vote rather than allowing city council to make that decision. He also argued that the Greenbrier Valley Airport in Maxwelton, which is inside the first due service area mandated for the LVFD by the state Fire Marshal's office, should not have to pay a fee to Lewisburg because the airport has its own firefighting equipment and personnel trained to operate it.

Lewisburg firefighter Joe Byers, who also lives in the LVFD's first due area, pointed out that he will personally be affected by the fire fee now under consideration. As a volunteer firefighter, Byers said his annual out-of-pocket expenses connected to those duties total around $1,000, a figure that includes devoting five days of his vacation later this year to required training.

Byers said he receives no property tax break or other consideration such as volunteer firefighters in some other counties do, and he expects that he will have to pay the $120 annual fire fee on his small home if and when Lewisburg adopts the fee ordinance, even though he already is essentially contributing $1,000 to the LVFD.

"I don't have a problem with that," Byers said.

Later in the meeting, Fire Chief Wayne Pennington presented council and the media with copies of the LVFD's latest six-month report, ending June 30. That report indicated the fire department responded to more than 400 incidents, which Pennington said was the highest six-month total he's seen in the past five years.

Pennington also responded to critics of the proposed rural fire fee, some of whom have suggested that the LVFD should simply send bills to homeowners' insurance companies for reimbursement when answering calls in the first due area rather than charging an annual fee. The chief provided a copy of a letter the LVFD received just last week from an insurance company, denying payment to the fire department for answering a call to a residence located on Anderson Road.

In the letter, a claims adjuster wrote, "(T)here is no coverage under this policy for 'Fire Department Service Charge.'" The adjuster added, "The location of property insured is within the... protection district furnishing the fire department response; therefore the service charge is not covered."

Pennington told council the insurance company's refusal to pay is far from an isolated incident. "Ninety-nine percent of the time when we bill, that's the response we get," he said.

Following the meeting, Pennington offered city officials, the media and the public at large the opportunity to look over the LVFD's new pumper truck, which is now in service, nearly a year after council gave the go-ahead to order it.

"It's brand new, built to my specifications," Pennington said.

The truck replaces a 1979 truck that only two firefighters at a time could ride in, Pennington said. There's room for five firefighters in the new truck, which also includes several added safety features and has a greater water storage capacity -- 1,250 gallons.

Outfitted with a full load of equipment -- some old and some new, necessitated by changing regulatory standards -- the truck's total value comes to around $350,000, according to Pennington.

-- E-mail: talvey@

register-herald.com

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