Orange County NC Website
provide budget and financial information to the County in exchange for levying a property tax <br /> rate in the district for the exclusive use of the Fire Department. All contracts renew <br /> automatically each fiscal year on the 1St day of July and continue in effect until terminated by <br /> either party, upon 365 days written notice to the other party. <br /> There are several important issues not addressed in the 1992 contract that would be included in <br /> a new contract with Orange County today, including but not limited to the following: <br /> • A detail description of fire protection services to be provided and standards expected <br /> by Orange County <br /> • The am�unt of Liability and Workers Compensation Insurance required <br /> • Requirements for an Annual Audit <br /> • The current contract states that "The Fire Department may provide a first responder <br /> program" but it is not required by the contract. i <br /> At this time the Fire Department contracts need to be reviewed by the County Attorney and <br /> revised to meet the current expectations of Orange County. <br /> Fire Department Strategic Plan <br /> The Fire Departments are moving forward with a strategic plan for fire protection in Orange <br /> County. The Fire Departments hope to have the Strategic Plan complete and present it to the <br /> Board of Commissioners in time for the FY 2012-13 annual budget. The County was not invited <br /> to be a part of this planning process. <br /> " FINANCIAL IMPACT: The discussion of this item has no financial impact on the County. <br /> RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board provide direction to staff <br /> as to changes in the status of Fire Protection, Insurance & Tax Districts and new Fire Protection <br /> contracts to be drafted by the County Attorney. Once the Volunteer Fire Departments complete <br /> their Strategic Planning process, it may be prudent to revisit these issues in a comprehensive <br /> manner. ' <br /> Michael Talbert said that there is a group of homeowners that live just south of Chapel <br /> Hill in Hunts Reserve and Reserve Phase tl. There are about 112 property owners. This was <br /> developed as part of the Town of Chapel Hill ETJ. The developers were required to put in <br /> water and hydrants. These particular homeowners could be serviced by the Town of Chapel <br /> Hill. There is a possibility of contracting with two service providers within the same district. <br /> There is tremendous flexibility in how to handle these issues. He said that Carrboro would be <br /> glad to help, but it wants the tax revenue that goes with the service and to be compensated. <br /> Commissioner Hemminger asked if it would be possible to form a working group with <br /> input from the County and fire districts just to deal with the contract issue. <br /> Michael Talbert said that staff could come back with a suggested structure. <br /> Commissioner Hemminger asked clarifying questions about changing fire districts, <br /> which were answered by staff. <br /> Commissioner Yuhasz asked how insurance districts are determined. <br /> Michael Talbert said that an insurance district is synonymous with the fire district, for the <br /> most part. When the homeowner or the property is located more than six road miles from the <br />