Lately, I've read more and more about the large number of volunteer fire departments in the area needing much more money to operate. And it seems their answer is to raise it using things like Bingo.
Twenty plus years ago, when I lived in Knox County, every year, the firemen would saturate the county, going door to door, and very politely, ask if you would join the fire department through a $20 membership. In the area where we lived, which had about 40 homes within a few miles, they collected from every, single home. Now, I live in Whitley County, and since I've been here, our local fire department doesn't do that. When i approached one of the members about it, he said, "we don't have the time to do that anymore, and it's hard to get people to do it period".
So, the do it with bingo I guess.
It's expensive to equip, operate, and maintain a fire dept., I know that as I was a member in another state. But, it was a requirement there that to be a member, in order to be allowed to answer calls, that the dues solicitation was a requirement, and the chief saw to it.
Our volunteer fire departments are very important. Our government agencies are so busy spending millions to build airports (Whitley County) that are never used, to build a jail and pay too much for the land, to build waterparks, and other such use of the money, than to put money into helping volunteer fire departments and other important causes.
Haliburtan skims off millions on no-bid contracts, companies have grown wealthy on Katrina rebuilding while the people who lost their homes are still suffering. We need to get our nation back doing the basics in helping all the people and not just the privileged.
With all the taxes we pay our governments should be able to support our fire departments.
The answer my friends, I'm sorry to say, and I'm sorry to admit, is a Fire Tax, added to our property tax bills. Yes, that's it. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and admit it.
Just like the Knox Counties Ambulance tax. If you want it, you got to pay for it. Will it totally solve the problem, probably not. But, it would get us on the right track.
Now, that said, this occupational tax needs to go, and I mean out. The previous whitley county fiscal court should be sued for allowing our county to get into this mess to start with. Sued for malfesence of office. All of them, even if some are still on the court or not.
The article today in the times tribune shows how serious the fire dept situation is. THe Laurel fiscal court owes many of the counties departments money, and they'll go broke without it.
A couple of weeks ago, one of the volunteer fire depts was doing a bucket donation out on the 5th st, falls road red light. There were several people sitting over in the convinence store lot. I went in and when I came out, I spoke to several of them, and asked them why they didn't go door to door for memberships, like they did ten or fifteen years ago.
They just stared at me like I was crazy. Finally, one man told me it was hard to get enough people to do that, as it took so much time.
I went home, and drove around 1 mile in each direction from my house. I counted over 100 homes. At $25 a pop, that is a lot of money in that small of an area.
By the way, none of the homes in my area are members. They've never been contacted.
