Jefferson County board making way for fire fee journal-news.net CHARLES TOWN - The Jefferson County Emergency Services Agency board will undergo a reconfiguration as the county commission makes room for a fire fee. A fire fee is seen as one solution to the budget reductions faced by the countys volunteer fire companies. Some residents are concerned that smaller fire companies could close due to lack of funding as a result of the cuts. A fire fee could help generate some revenue for the fire companies. Under Article 7, Section 17 of the West Virginia Code, county commissions may create and implement a fire fee. A petition must be drafted and then signed by 10 percent of the countys voting population. Thirty percent of the voting population must sign the petition within a 45-day period. County commission president Walt Pellish said he wants the public to have one petition document to avoid multiple, different copies being circulated and signed. I want everybody to see the same document, he said. I know the county commission cannot make the language, but there is a need for something simple and clear. According to Jefferson County clerk Jennifer Maghan, the petition must state the reason signatures are being collected. She suggested referencing Article 7, Section 17 of the Code on the document. Assistant prosecuting attorney Stephen Groh said the section of the Code states a fire fee cannot be collected through a lien or put on a tax ticket. The only wrinkle I see is the county does not have a fire board, only an ESA board, Groh said. To put a fire fee on, the county is going to have to create a fire board. Groh said any bylaws for the fire board must be approved at the capital in Charleston, and it is up to state government whether or not Jefferson County will be able to have a joint ESA and fire board. Commissioner Patsy Noland suggested reorganizing the current ESA board, and asked Groh if the county commission has the power to dissolve boards in addition to creating them. Last time, we began the discussion of reorganizing the ESA board, she said. I want to know if the county commission has the authority to do away with the ESA board since we have the authority to create it. Groh said the commissioners could abolish the ESA board, and said the county may have to go back to a separate fire board and ambulance board - two separate boards collecting two separate fees. The new ESA board configuration is one representative from the countys fire services, one representative from the countys EMS operations, one county commissioner and three citizen members. All six members would have a vote, and must be appointed for a term. A petition will be made available to the public, and a public hearing on the creation of a fire board and implementation of a fire fee will be held after signatures are collected.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 15:00:00 +0000
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