Politics & Government

Mayor: Fire District Is a 'Scheme'

Canton City Council member Bob Rush, who proposed the creation of a fire district after a June 21 vote to look into consolidating the city's fire department with the county's failed, said he resented Mayor Gene Hobgood's assertion.

Calling a council member's proposal to create a fire district a "disingenuous scheme" that will not provide enough revenue to meet the city's long-term fire service needs, Canton Mayor Gene Hobgood endorsed a plan to consolidate the city's fire department with the county's.

Two weeks ago, the  voted down a plan to start formal merger discussions with the county, a decision that prompted .

Council members decided to table the discussion on the fire district, which would include a 3.12 mill fire tax to improve the . That discussion resumed Thursday night, and Hobgood said the proposal was "somewhat of a scheme simply to bypass the will of the voters" who, in the late 1990s, approved a senior tax exemption for those who are at least 62 years old.

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"This proposal will not provide enough revenue to meet the long-term needs of our fire service, but will only increase property taxes on everyone including seniors," he said.

Saying he resented the mayor's assertion that the fire district was an attempt "to get around the senior property tax exemption," Rush said "it has nothing to do with the senior property tax exemption.

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"If we merge with county as you insist or we create a fire district, the tax that the people are going to pay is going to be the same amount of money."

Rush said he'd rather see that money stay in the city than go to the county. As far as he and Council member Bill Bryan are concerned, the money collected from the fire district may not be enough to cover the cost of building a in the first year, but it would be a start.

"The first step is we have to start collecting money, setting it aside," Bryan said. "It's called savings, paying as you go. We have not done that in this city. We always just borrow it and then figure it out. We're changing that. We're going to start saving up to build a fire station."  

Rush said he couldn't support the city-county merger "because we have $5 million worth of property and equipment that the residents of Canton paid for and I can't see just giving it away."

He said the city might want to consider entertaining the idea "down the road, after we've had this (fire district) for awhile."

Though  may step in to assist during major events such as the , Canton and Woodstock are the only cities in Cherokee who choose to go it alone when it comes to fire service.

Council member Glen Cummins said he didn't care which route the council took. 

But "don't come with just Step 1 and say we'll figure out Step 2 later," he said. "Do the whole plan. I hate voting on these things that we got half the answers to, and saying, 'We got to rush this through' when there is absolutely zero sense of urgency to do anything about a fire district."

Hobgood instructed City Manager Scott Wood to get the council those answers, and to prepare "a five- to 10-year plan for meeting our fire service needs before this council chooses to implement this expensive fire district."

The plan, Hobgood said, should detail the expected level of service, the cost involved and the exact amount of increase in taxes.

To watch video coverage of Thursday night's council meeting, click here.

Scenario The owner of a $200,000 home would pay Would seniors pay? Current $250 for fire service No If Canton maintains its ISO rating $250 for fire service No If Canton added one new fire station and operating costs $360 to $380 No If Canton added two new fire stations and operating costs $530 +/- No Consolidation with Cherokee County $250-$260 range Yes If Canton created a fire protection district Rush said it would be the same amount expected of residents if the city and the county merged fire services. Hobgood said that isn't true. "There will be unreasonable costs," he said. Yes

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