-Information courtesy Jordan McMillen, County Manager, Vance County

To assist the public, the County of Vance has posted several documents related to the fire commission’s proposed reorganization of the County’s fire services on their website. The County will be seeking public comments at the Vance County Board of Commissioners meeting to be held on Monday, January 7, 2019.

The proposal includes the following changes:

– Converts the Goldenbelt fire district into a volunteer district with the Rescue Squad reincorporating as a volunteer fire department and rescue to take on the district.

– Moves existing county fire staff out of Goldenbelt district and splits them between Hicksboro and Bearpond Volunteer Departments; moves the county fire staff under the fire marshal/fire services department for oversight of paid personnel and creates an Assistant Fire Marshal position.

– Utilizes savings from the general fund county fire department operational expenses to offset costs in fire fund for 12 part-time positions, two at each station for Cokesbury, Drewry, Kittrell, Townsville, Watkins, and the newly constituted Goldenbelt volunteer fire departments during the day-time.

– Provides $200,000 in annual funding to the Rescue Squad as the new volunteer fire department that would also take ownership and associated debt of County’s newly ordered fire truck.

– Includes paying off the existing Kerr-Lake substation and county tanker debt from the general and/or fire fund balance.

– Provides equal funding of $100,000 to the border departments, Drewry and Epsom.

– Eliminates the substation funding of $10,000 for Hicksboro and eliminates the rotating capital funding of $30,000, with the fire fund being used to assist departments with 50/50 grants and capital needs.

– Moves dispatch from three alarm to four alarm.