Volunteer Fire Departments Perplex Leake
It was equal parts amazing and amusing watching Commissioner Vilma Leake in action Tuesday night, but mostly it was flat-out scary. At issue was a vote by the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners to approve a change in the structure of the Fire Commission and receive an update on the county’s fire service assessment. The following is fairly close to a verbatim discussion of what ensued when Leake jumped into the mix:
“Why are they called volunteer if they don’t get paid?” Leake asked.
“I’m sorry, can you repeat the question, please,” replied an understandably confused Fire Marshal Mark Auten.
“Why are you called volunteer firefighters?” Leake asked.
“We have a number of firefighters in the county that volunteer their time to conduct this service,” Auten ventured.
“But why are you called volunteer and you’re asking for funding?” Leake pressed. “Do we have another agency that’s called firefighters under the auspices of the county?”
At which point County Manager Harry Jones tried to provide some clarification, explaining that the county’s funding helped offset VFD expenses for equipment, fuel, fire trucks and maintenance.
“Does this conflict with our own fire department?” Leake asked.
“The county does not have one,” said Commissioners Chairman Jennifer Roberts.
“We don’t have a fire department?” Leake asked.
“The city has one,” Roberts said.
“The city has one,” Leake said. “So the county is supporting the volunteers and the city is supporting its own fire department.”
“Correct,” Roberts said. “In the city limits of Charlotte they have a fully funded fire department.”
“I’m just still not clear,” Leake said.
Alrighty then. Let’s pause for a moment to consider the implications of that exchange. It is distressing, stupefying, harrowing (insert adjective of choice here) that a commissioner in charge of a billion-dollar budget is apparently clueless that the county doesn’t have its own fire department.
Volunteer fire departments provide service for unincorporated areas of the county and fill in service gaps for towns that don’t have their own departments. The cost of helping to fund those VFDs runs the county about $1.8 million a year. Without the county’s financial assistance most of the VFDs couldn’t operate, in which case the county would have to pay the city to provide fire-protection service, at a higher cost, for the unincorporated areas and some towns.
The county has struggled with that dynamic for years and has consistently encouraged the smaller towns to form their own fire departments. That encouragement should be more aggressive, said Commissioner Bill James, whose district includes the town of Mint Hill, which has a volunteer force similar to Pineville, Huntersville, and Davidson.
“Some towns don’t want to create a fire department because it’s such a big budget item,” James said. “They’re living off the county’s largess and we don’t push them. The end goal should be we’re out of the fire department business.”
The fire services assessment that commissioners received as information Tuesday night appears headed in that direction, with a long-term recommendation that either separate tax districts be established to support the 17 volunteer departments, or that they be merged with existing town departments or departments that towns currently without are being encouraged to form.
Should be interesting to watch the wheels spin as Leake tries to wrap her head around that volunteer evolution.
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Glad to know our elected officials have such a grasp on the makeup of County government.
Jennifer Roberts must have been cringing at this! There’s always one person that doesn’t make your job any easier.
I’ve got to forward this to Lee Ann Patton, Vilma’s opponent in November. Incumbancy is powerful, the district demographics stink, but hopefully stuff like this can show that, regardless of party, some people just don’t have what it takes to be an effective leader. This is just one of many examples from Ms. Leake.
Velma Leake would not get it if they drew her a Crayon Picture.
[...] an exchange from last night’s Mecklenburg County Commissioners meeting that was recorded by Pundit House, a watchdog group of reporters in Charlotte. As you are reading this bear in mind that this woman [...]
Poor Velma, in her world she cannot image anyone doing something for free.
@Bruce:
I wonder how much she pays her campaign “volunteers”! Perhaps I was helping the wrong candidates!
Actually this makes perfect sense to me: Vilma thinks of VFDs as charter schools — ie competitors for the official government-run service providers. Likewise she simply assumed that the county runs its own fire department, because after all in Vilma land, if the government does not do it, it does not get done.
Spot-on, MeckDeck: When Vilma was on the Board of Ed, CMS for years had a standing practice of stealing money from charter schools, withholding funds that were rightfully due the charters. When a judge ordered them to immediately cease and desist the practice, Vilma’s and the school board’s response was to fight it to the bitter end, wasting thousands of dollars in the process.
it would be great to actually download the video for all to see but i see that the county web site won’t let you download it . Would be a great video on youtube
I want to agree with Chrisrtian Hine, Lee Ann is going to be a great Candidate for District 2 Commissioner. I know she knows that Volunteer means no pay.
I hope her house never catches on fire,can anyone imagine what the 911 call would sound like.
It is absolutely appalling that Leake and other county commissioners, are so ignorant as to how Mecklenburg County fire departments are funded. Even James showed his ignorance in believing that Mint Hill does not have a Fire Department and that towns aren’t providing funding for Fire Department. Most Fire Departments cannot operate on the budget the county gives them, and rely largely on the funds given them by the Towns! There are countless departments in this country that operate ONE station on 1.8 million dollars. Mecklenburg county Volunteer Firefighters operate 17 off of that budget.
Unfortunatly, this is not the only issue she is ignorant about. This is truly appalling but not unexpected!
Leakes needs to retire to try and regain some “brain” functioning! THAT is why we need Lisa Ann Patton for District 2….