Agenda - 11-19-2007-1a - Laserfiche WebLink

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commissioners must hold a public hearing before adopting the final resolution which creates the district. In order to establish a district, it is necessary that all of the following apply: • Demonstrable need • It is impossible or impractical to provide those services on a countywide basis • It is economically feasible to provide those services to the district without unreasonable taxes • Demonstrable demand in the district (153A-302(al)) A special district only for fire services may also be taxed, by resolution from the board of county commissioners under G.S. 153A-309, to provide emergency medical, rescue, and ambulance services. Under G.S. 153A-307, the county may levy additional property taxes in the service area to finance the service as well as use unrestricted money from the general funds. In addition, the board of county commissioners can adopt a resolution within the first 90 days before the public hearing to create the service district to limit the service tax to 15 cents per $100 of property (G.S. 153A-309.2). Overall, the service district and county tax may not exceed $1.50 per $100 of property value (G.S. 153A-307). Insurance Districts Under G.S. 153A-233, the board of county commissioners may designate rural fire districts as insurance districts. In this case, the board of commissioners set boundaries for insurance-grading purposes. These districts are served by a rural fire department but are not supported by a specific district tax. One advantage of creating an insurance district is that property owners may receive reduced fire insurance rates if the district is approved. In order to provide fire protection for these districts, the county generally contracts with a volunteer or city fire department and pays for this protection with unrestricted general funds. County and rural fire departments, communications, and water supplies are evaluated by the Office of the State Fire Marshal on a scale of 1 to 10 for insurance purposes. Property insurance rates in the jurisdiction of a fire department with a 9 rating will be the highest and 1 will be the lowest. A rating of 10 considers that jurisdiction to have no fire protection. To achieve a 9S (9) rating, several requirements must be met, including the fire department must be incorporated, a fire station must be within 5 road miles of the property, and the department must have a minimum of 20 personnel (18 designated as firefighters). A complete list of these requirements can be found at http://www.ncdoi.com/OSFM/RI/Documents/9S Requirement.pdf. Training, Prevention, and Inspection The State Fire and Rescue Commission, part of the North Carolina Department of Insurance, establishes minimum qualifications for fire and rescue service personnel. Firefighters may go through a voluntary certification program in which the performance standards are based on the National Fire Protection Administration (NFPA) standards (G.S. 58-78). In addition, individual departments may require addition training or certification. The fire prevention code is part of the North Carolina State building Code. Local governments are responsible for enforcing this code and administering prevention programs. ]:n general, fire inspectors are responsible to enforce to code. These inspectors must go through the certification requirements of the North Carolina Code Officials Qualification Board and can work from a variety of place including a municipal fire department, inspection department, or development department.