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2 <br />Conduct a public hearing - Copies of the public hearing advertisements and <br />notes/minutes from each public hearing are included in the attachments to this agenda <br />item. <br />Obtain approval of the "applicable elected representatives" - In accordance with <br />Section 147, the Board of County Commissioners must approve the District's plan to <br />enter into the debt arrangement. This approval does not create liability on the part of <br />Orange County nor does it make the County responsible for the repayment of any <br />debt assumed by the fire district. The approval provides a mechanism for the <br />Commissioners to acknowledge that, through this financing arrangement, each Fire <br />Company is pledging use of the District's tax dollars to repay the loan. In order to comply <br />with this IRS requirement, the Chair of the Commissioners must sign the Fire Service <br />Agreements and Certificates of Approval for each district provided in the attachments of <br />this agenda item. <br />As indicated in the Board approved November 18, 2008 agenda item for a similar financing <br />arrangement for Orange Grove Volunteer Fire Company, the fire departments have <br />collaborated, over the last five months, in developing truck specifications. The collaborative <br />efforts have resulted in departments purchasing comparable trucks and equipment thereby <br />improving their efforts to provide mutual aid to neighboring departments. Representatives from <br />each district have made Orange County Emergency Services and Budget directors aware of <br />their purchase intentions. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: All departments plan to finance some or all of the cost of the trucks. <br />Department Board members are currently negotiating terms of the financing arrangements. <br />None of the departments anticipate the purchases to cause an increase in their current tax rate. <br />RECOMMENDATION (S): The Manager recommends the Board of County Commissioners: <br />1. Approve Cedar Grove, Little River, and Orange Rural Volunteer Fire Companies. entering <br />into a financing arrangements to purchase replacement fire trucks; <br />2. Appropriate $20,000 from the Caldwell (Little River) Fire Department's County-held <br />unappropriated fund balance; <br />3. Authorize the Board of Commissioner Chair to sign the appropriate documents related to <br />the financing arrangement. <br />