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2 <br /> MINUTES <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> AND <br /> THE TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS <br /> NOVEMBER 8, 1995 <br /> The Orange County Board of Commissioners met with the Hillsborough <br /> Town Commissioners for a joint work session on November 8, 1995 at 7:30 <br /> p.m. in the meeting room of the Government Services Building in <br /> Hillsborough, North Carolina. <br /> COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr. , and <br /> Commissioners William L. Crowther, Alice M. Gordon, Stephen H. Halkiotis <br /> and Don Willhoit <br /> TOWN COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Mayor Horace Johnson and Commissioners <br /> Evelyn Lloyd, Catherine Martin and Richard Simpson <br /> COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill <br /> COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr. , Assistant <br /> County Manager Rod Visser and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe <br /> (Other staff will be identified where appropriate) <br /> NOTE: The items below are listed in the order they were discussed. <br /> 1. FIRE PROTECTION ISSUES FOR HILLSBOROUGH AND ORANGE RURAL <br /> Town Manager Eric Swanson distributed copies of a letter sent <br /> to Chair Carey dated September 8, 1995 with regard to fire protection <br /> issues. Chandler Cates spoke on behalf of both fire departments. He <br /> gave historical data on both fire departments and said that the problem <br /> is they don't have enough volunteers during the day. He feels that with <br /> the number of schools and county buildings in the Hillsborough area that <br /> better fire protection is needed. <br /> The letter that was distributed gave the present organizational <br /> structure and some options for improving the service. <br /> He noted that the same volunteers serve both fire districts. The Town <br /> provides for the fire department the building in which they are located, <br /> one truck and makes payments on a ladder truck. The budget for <br /> Hillsborough is $112,000 and the budget for Orange Rural is $157,000. <br /> The town does receive some benefit from Orange Rural in that they do <br /> provide some vehicles they use. The two districts cooperate to provide <br /> fire protection. Annexation will hurt the Orange Rural area. <br /> He feels that since the County has such a large presence in the Town that <br /> they should be aware of the problem and assist the Town in looking at <br /> options for providing fire protection. <br /> Mayor Johnson said that if the Town funded three full-time fire <br /> protection workers, it would mean 11 cents on the tax rate. <br /> Commissioner Crowther asked if there was any incentive for town <br /> employees to be volunteers and Mayor Johnson said they do not have enough <br /> employees to fill the need. <br /> Commissioner Willhoit suggested that some arrangement be worked <br /> out between the rural district and the town based on the number of calls <br /> each receive. Chandler Cates reported on the number of calls each <br /> received for 1991 through the first g it t six months of 1995 which seem to <br /> indicate that Hillsborough receives about double the number of calls that <br /> Orange Rural receives. He noted that even with full-time staff they <br /> would need volunteers. <br />