5-16-16 Reg. Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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BK:00028 PG. -0264 For the fiscal year 2016 - 2017, the budget increases the Fire Advisory Board saw resulted mainly from cost of operations, a cost of living increase for personnel, and the need to upgrade or replace equipment. Of the seven volunteer fire departments in the county, there are five departments where the fire tax rate will remain the same for fiscal year 2016 - 2017. Two of these departments, Deep River Fire Department and Northview Fire Department, made voluntary cuts to their budget request in order to prevent an increase in the fire tax rate for 2016 - 2017. There are two fire departments, Carolina Trace Fire Department and Northwest Pocket Fire Department, which will see an increase in the fire tax rate for fiscal year 2016 - 2017. We will address this in more detail in the specific department's request and recommendation. Attached to this cover letter is a spreadsheet entitled "Lee County Fire Departments FY 2016/2017 Budget Worksheet" which shows each department's information as respect to the fiscal year 2016 - 2017. The budget recommendations from the Fire Advisory Board are based on the information contained within the spreadsheet along with our discussions with the individual fire department. The spreadsheet also shows the projected fund balance used, the collection rate, and the tax base for each of the fire districts. The budget request includes the cost to fund the Lee County Fire Marshal's Office. The following is a brief highlight of the budget request and the recommendation from the Fire Advisory Board. Cape Fear Fire Department — Station 5 Cape Fear Fire Department's budget request increased by $5,800 in funding over the current year. The most significant increases in their budget request was for personnel, replacing computer equipment, fleet maintenance, and radio replacement. The department is scheduled for inspection by the N C State Fire Marshal's Office later this summer. In discussions with Chief Billings, the department has been working hard in an effort to lower their protection class rating from 7/9 to 5/9. If they are successful, this will save the property owners on their insurance premiums. The fire district's tax base increased about $12,445,700 from the current year. The increase in the tax base is more than enough to offset the $5,800 increase in funding request. The projected fire tax rate for Cape Fear Fire District in fiscal year 2016 - 2017 will remain at the current rate of $0.10. The Fire Advisory Board recommends the budget request from Cape Fear Fire Dept as presented. Carolina Trace Fire Department — Station 8 Carolina Trace Fire Department's budget request reflects a $26,473 increase in funding. The majority of the increase is in personnel, property and casua�urance, and grant match. The department has recently gone through some personnel changes and has made some changes in position classifications and pay scales. The cost of insurance for the 2