Questions answered by Lamar Paris, County Commissioner
Q. What exactly am I getting for the amount of taxes I pay?
A. It would take several columns to answer this question because Union County offers so much for a small mountain county. Some people say, "Well, I don’t use all of the facilities and services we have in the county and should not have to pay for them." But whether or not you use them doesn’t mean they are not available to you if at some point you do need them. For instance, you may never need to use Emergency Services but you certainly want to know when an ambulance is needed, that you have the best equipment and trained personnel possible.
The next several questions are going to deal with what your property taxes pay for. While I have had many questions about this subject in general, the questions I am going to print here are not necessarily ones I have heard exactly, but questions I want to raise to help educate you on this very important issue.
Q. How many home and structure fires does Union County have in a year?
A. This year so far we have had 33 structure fires. But this is only a small part of what the fire department does. Every fireman must take hundreds of hours of training and complete many courses. We are one of the few rural counties in the state that has a full time fire department. We have (four) certified firemen on duty 24/7. This takes 12 firemen to cover and we have a Chief and Office Assistant. We have some of the best equipment available and some of the best trained firemen. If you ever have a home or business fire, you should feel comfortable that your service in Union County will be better than in many counties throughout the state. In addition, we have over 80 fully qualified volunteer firemen that are there ready to assist in an emergency.
To illustrate the caliber of firefighters and training we have, recently a Hall County man who was trained as a volunteer firefighter in Union County saved a blind man who was trapped in a burning house. The Hall County man credited Union County with training him so that he knew what to do in this situation.
Q. What other functions does the Fire Department perform other than just fighting house fires?
A. Many!! So far this year they have been to 12 vehicle fires, 40 brush fires, 968 calls assisting the Union General Ambulance Service, 90 vehicle wrecks with injuries and 44 without injuries, 12 searches and 7 rescues off the Appalachian Trail.
Q. Why does the Fire Department help the ambulance service?
A. There are many situations when an ambulance, staffed by only two people, needs assistance either with medical care, carrying people out of homes, sometimes looking after children and pets until homeowners arrive, and sometimes assisting with transports.
In addition, they can aid in medical assistance to the EMT's. If you or a member of your family is ever involved in an emergency situation, I can assure you that it is very comforting knowing we have the class and quality of people not only working in the Fire Department, but also with the Union General Ambulance Service. Together, they make an excellent team.
Q. How do we pay for our Fire Department?
A. It comes from two sources, but primarily, it comes from life insurance premium taxes that the residents of Union County pay to their individual insurance companies. The balance is paid for with property taxes. This insurance tax allows your property tax dollars to be utilized for other services, which includes the ambulance service. The annual cost of the Fire Department is $837,855.
Q. I thought the Ambulance Service was owned by Union General Hospital?
A. You are correct, it is, but several years ago we negotiated with them to continue to maintain the excellent service they provide with the county supplementing their service by budgeting $500,000 each year to cover some of their loses. We feel it is a win/win for the taxpayers and while I certainly hope none of you ever need the services of the Ambulance, Fire or Rescue, it should be of comfort that the service you will receive here is on par with any county anywhere and much better than many.
Cost of County services - to be continued