Letters to the editor: 08/29/02

Fire tax by districts would be fair

To the Editor:

After reading a recent issue of The Sylva Herald in reference to a fire tax that was included in a Smart Growth meeting, I felt I had to write to let the people of Jackson County know what shape our fire department is in. My letter is written only to show the difference in our county fire departments, and I hope I will not offend anyone but the anti-fire tax commissioners.

The only problem with a fire tax is that Mrs. Crawford is so worried that my fire department (Cashiers-Glenville) would get more money at a lower rate. If our fine commissioner would check with 95 of our 100 North Carolina counties, she would see that all fire districts are different and have different rates. Our fire district is protecting 64 percent of all our county's tax revenue, or $1.7 billion worth. Our department consists of three stations and 11 trucks. We have had to purchase several used air packs, 16 used pagers, thousands of feet of used hose, and at this time we have two used fire trucks.

You say you cannot find a way to tax equally, so you will not do it. Well, the good thing about a fire tax is that every fire department turns in its budget and that rate is set to meet it. That way every fire district pays for its own fire department, which is fair. The people in my fire district can't keep sending millions of dollars to watch you build fire houses while we are having to purchase used equipment to operate.

I hope all the firemen in the county will ask why a meeting was held on our business with none of us asked to speak for ourselves. I am very proud of our fire department and what we have been able to do. All of our county fire departments will survive, as always, but you should be ashamed that we spend every Saturday raising money.

Randy Dillard

Chief

Cashiers-Glenville

Fire Department

Finish what you were elected to do

To the Editor:

On Nov. 6, 2001, the voters of Sylva elected Maurice Moody to represent us as a member of the Sylva Town Board.

He pledged in his election ads that he would provide honest leadership, dedicated to Sylva's future growth. He listed many goals, most of which are still to be completed.

Now, nine months later he is bailing out on the voters of Sylva and is running for a seat on the county board of commissioners. Why doesn't he stick it out and complete the job the voters of Sylva elected him to do.

There is still much to do in Sylva and if he stays and finishes the job it will not only restore the voters confidence in him, but it will insure the Sylva Town Board remains the way the voters of Sylva intended. If he should get elected to the county board of commissioners it will change the makeup of the Sylva Town Board as they will have to appoint someone to replace Mr. Moody, someone the voters of Sylva did not elect.

Why don't you withdraw from the election for county commissioner, Mr. Moody? As you know due to a shortage of time there will not be a runoff following the primary election Tuesday Sept. 10, so someone might get elected by one or two votes over the other candidates running in their district. This is not fair to the voters or the other candidates who are running in District 2 if someone gets elected without a clear cut majority of the vote.

Thank you,

Herb Zachmann

Sylva

Letters to the editor: 08/29/02

Fire tax by districts would be fair

To the Editor:

Finish what you were elected to do

To the Editor:

Back to Archive: 08/29/02.