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Editorials - 08/22/02Towns can find solution for fire protection funding |
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When Sylva, Dillsboro and Webster lead-ers gather tonight (Thursday), we hope they will focus on common ground. All three municipalities are more than 100 years old, and the three towns have a history of getting along and cooperating on areas of mutual concern.
And all three look to the same unit of volunteers to protect their homes and businesses in the event of fire. Sylva's fire department, which celebrated its own centennial three years ago, has evolved from a bucket brigade to a modern, well-equipped, highly-trained force. The town of Sylva through the years has made a financial commitment to provide the volunteers who serve so faithfully with the best trucks, training and equipment. As a result, Sylva's Insurance Service Office rating is the lowest in the county, providing homeowners in the Sylva Fire Department's district - whether they are in Sylva, Webster or Dillsboro - with an average insurance savings of $130 annually. In these times of budget shortfalls, all who benefit from a service must help fund it. Sylva's recent fire department budget analysis does not ask Webster and Dillsboro for a flat fee but instead asks that the three towns and the county work together to reach an equitable solution. We applaud Sylva officials both for adopting a non-confrontational approach to fire department funding and for being proactive in looking toward future needs. With cuts in state funding looming ever larger, Sylva leaders are wise to seek additional compensation from the two other incorporated towns whose residents benefit from Sylva's lower ISO rating. Dillsboro and Webster have paid Sylva what they've been asked to pay in return for a fire protection contract. If they need bear a larger share to ensure that funding levels remain high enough to maintain Sylva's lower rating - a documented savings to the towns' residents - then it seems to us a burden leaders of the two smaller towns should accept. Incorporated towns have a responsibility to provide their residents with services over and above what's available to those who live in unincorporated areas. As the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for." Dillsboro and Webster have for years received a high level of service at a relatively low cost. It's time their leaders shouldered more of the cost of protecting their citizens. We're confident the three groups will be able to work out a fair solution because we believe they all want the same thing - the best possible fire protection for each town's residents, homes and businesses.
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