Commissioners unsure about fire truck funds

The dispute between the city and county over taxation issues leaves Bedford County Board of Commissioners' budget and finance committee unsure of its options for funding a request for new fire trucks for Volunteer Fire Services Inc.

Finance committee members had hoped they could make a down payment on the trucks from the proceeds from sale of Bedford County Medical Center. By making such a down payment, the loan payment on the trucks would be roughly the same as the loan payment on the last group of trucks purchased for VFSI, and the county could continue making those loan payments from its "special purpose fund" derived from rural revenues.

But County Attorney John T. Bobo said Monday night that using hospital sale proceeds to pay for any part of the trucks might violate the county's settlement agreement with the city over a 1990s class action lawsuit.

"I don't know exactly where we are," said finance committee chairman Roger Brothers during the finance committee's meeting on Tuesday night.

Shelbyville officials have threatened legal action against the county over the division of sales tax revenues and have, as part of that dispute, raised questions over whether the county complies with the law in the way it funds fire protection services. Although VFSI says it is willing to respond to any fire in the county, fires within the city are typically handled by the Shelbyville Fire Department and city residents say they shouldn't be taxed to fund VFSI.

Since Bobo's firm deals with both the county and the city, the county would have to seek outside representation if the current dispute with Shelbyville goes to court. Finance committee members said it might be a good idea to go ahead and hire such an attorney, so that the commission could get advice on issues like how to fund the fire trucks. The finance committee voted to contact attorney John Bumpus about representing the county in its dispute with the city.

Without the down payment, the loan payments on the new trucks would be more than the special purpose fund could support in its current form.

VFSI has asked for seven new pumper-tankers and an aerial bucket device, saying the trucks are badly needed as VFSI responds to fire calls in the rapidly-growing rural areas of the county. The county is nearly through paying off seven new trucks purchased in 1998. Those trucks, like the proposed new ones, have an estimated life expectancy of 25-30 years.

VFSI Chief Mark Thomas has said at previous meetings that the aerial bucket is badly needed because current trucks have trouble fighting fires on high or very large structures, especially given the limited water supply at many rural sites.

VFSI told the finance committee in February it had a $2,968,751 bid for the trucks and equipment, but that bid was only good for a limited amount of time and Thomas, who is also acounty commissioner, said the price has now gone up. He said VFSI will reduce the accessory equipment it is requesting in order to bring the total project costs back down to the original figure.

In addition to the trucks, Thomas and Bedford County Emergency Medical Services assistant director Mike Clements presented a proposal for a new $1 million hall which would house both BCEMS ambulances and VFSI trucks. The hall would be located north of Shelbyville, in the general area of the planned new Bedford County Medical Center.

BCEMS currently has its main hall next to the existing BCMC. BCMC has offered land for a new BCEMS hall as part of its new site, but there's a question about whether that would be sufficient for the size project envisioned by BCEMS and VFSI.

The finance committee voted to place a proposal for a $4 million bond issue -- enough to fund the trucks and the EMS / fire hall -- on the full commission's may agenda, pending advice from Bobo and / or Bumpus about how to pay for it.

In other discussion Tuesday night, the committee approved $41,000 for the county's share of a study of the county's growth plan by the engineering firm of Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon Inc. The county's commitment would be subject to the City of Shelbyville agreeing to pick up the other half of the $82,000 project cost.

The county and its four incorporated cities developed a growth plan, as required by the state, in 2000. State law locked that plan in place and prevented changes for the first three years, but it can now be reviewed and changed if desired. Various recent discussions about zoning, annexation and the county's rapid growth have caused local leaders to ask for the plan to be reviewed.

The committee also approved budget amendment requests from Bedford County Jail and Bedford County Animal Control. Neither request involved any new money; each simply shifts money between line items to fund unexpected expenses.