Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
ORANGE COUNTY FIRE RESCUE STUDY <br />COUNTYWIDE RECOMMENDATIONS <br />1 Funding <br />2 <br />3 We have evaluated the current -and short-term needs of the fire districts and <br />4 recommend the following modifications to the tax rates of the respective districts. <br />5 <br />2005-06 Recommended <br />Fire District or Department Tax Rate 2006-2007 Rate <br />Cedar Grove 7.3 7.8 <br />Efland 3.475 4.975 <br />Eno 5.7 No Change <br />Little River (Caldwell) 4.6 5.1 <br />New Hope 6.25 6.75 <br />Orange Grove 3.4 4.9 <br />Orange Rural 5.6 No Change <br />South Orange (Carrboro) 9.2 No Change <br />White Cross 4.2 5.7 <br />6 <br />7 We believe a policy change needs to be implemented for future financial stability of <br />8 the departments. It is our understanding that the County has traditionally lowered <br />9 the tax rate following property reassessment to realize a tax neutral situation. We <br />10 recommend that the County not drop the rates for the fire tax districts following <br />11 property reassessment. This will help avoid an increase in'rates while generating <br />12 additional revenues for the departments. <br />13 <br />14 <br />15 County Staff Support <br />16 <br />17 We recommend that the County assist in the certification and documentation of <br />18 water sources for all departments. This will help departments in obtaining lower <br />19 ISO ratings and since the County has no hydrant system, each department has this <br />20 need. The County is in a better position to engage the services of engineers <br />21 qualified to perform the work and can obtain a better price by having the work <br />22 performed for all departments. Fire Departments can identify the location of water <br />23 sources that can be used for water supply. Water engineers will be required to <br />98 <br />