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Michael Fisher, a candidate for the District 2 seat of the Vance County Board of Commissioners, appeared on the first segment of WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m. For the second segment, WIZS re-aired a previous interview with incumbent Archie Taylor, Jr. per his request.
Fisher and Taylor have expressed differences in their stance on the potential restructuring of the Vance County Fire Department (VCFD) and volunteer departments as well as on County-provided funding for McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center.
Serving in public safety for 43 years, including his current position as the treasurer and safety officer of the Vance County Rescue Squad, Fisher previously stated that he would retire if elected to the Board of Commissioners.
In addressing fire and safety protection, Fisher said a significant change needs to occur in the funding structure of the County’s fire departments.
“A lot of departments in this county feel that it is unfair that the paid VCFD gets a $1.3 million budget, and the volunteer departments get $100,000 apiece to operate and provide the same service. I’m not saying we do away with the VCFD, but we’ve got to find a way to make this equal out.”
Fisher said the VCFD receives General Fund and fire tax funding, while the volunteer departments, under contract to the County for services provided, only receive funding from the fire tax.
“Just recently, volunteer departments went from a 9 to a 5 or 6 fire rating. The VCFD went from a 6 to a 5, so we are all providing the same service across the board. The $300,000 in extra money VCFD gets, when you factor in paid staff and the benefits, is a big deal.”
Ultimately, Fisher said he would propose keeping the VCFD as a whole but cutting its budget and distributing the extra funds amongst the County’s eight volunteer fire departments.
“If someone quits or retires, replace that full-time person with part-time staff. You will still save the County money without raising taxes, and you’ll still have a 24-hour staff with part-time,” Fisher stated.
In his Town Talk interview that aired on September 29, Taylor, a commissioner since 2012, said he was a strong proponent of the VCFD, stating that they have served the county well for over 60 years.
“Now we have this element inside of the Rescue Squad – along with some others in our community – who would disband the VCFD,” said Taylor. “Instead of eight volunteer fire departments, there would be nine because they would get rid of the VCFD, distribute its employees and have the Rescue Squad take over firefighting in the county. I think that is absolutely a huge mistake for our county.”
While Fisher said he would like to see more funds allocated amongst volunteer departments, Taylor said he questions why the Vance County Rescue Squad receives its current level of funding.
“I question why Vance County pays over $100,000 for rescue work,” Taylor said. “As pointed out in The Daily Dispatch recently, Granville County has $20,000; Franklin has $40,000; Warren has zero dollars allocated to rescue, and yet Vance County has over $102,000. So, I’ve questioned that for six months or so, and I guess we will come to some resolution on that.”
Taylor emphasized that he has been the primary proponent for keeping the VCFD as is and acknowledged that his stance on the issue is one of the most significant differences between him and Fisher.
“A vote for me is a vote to keep the Vance County Fire Department intact,” Taylor stated.
Another topic that has emerged as a difference of opinion for Fisher and Taylor is the appropriate level of County funding for the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center located in downtown Henderson.
Serving on the Vance County Intergovernmental Committee that recently voted to provide McGregor Hall with a $50,000 allocation from the County’s Coronavirus Relief Funds, Taylor said he’s committed to assisting the performing arts center.
“McGregor Hall is one of the only performing arts centers of its kind in the state that gets no public money at this time,” Taylor explained. “It brings our community over $2 million in revenue every year based on a study done by NC State University. I think it’s important that we figure out some way to help McGregor Hall because it provides a big economic impact to our community, and we want big economic impacts.”
Acknowledging the hardships McGregor Hall has faced this year with COVID restrictions, Fisher said he hopes to see the center maintain self-sufficiency moving forward.
“They’ve done really well on their own until COVID came up,” Fisher commented. “I think they need to be self-sufficient if they can. It would have to be a hard time to actually put them on the County’s payroll.”
To hear the interview in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
(This is not a paid political advertisement. Political candidates are offered equal air time/coverage on WIZS.)
