Maysville fire service gets OK to request tax on district residents

MAYSVILLE — Taxing the people will make it safer in Maysville — at least that’s how the town’s fire department sees it.

Town officials and the Maysville Volunteer Fire Department crew spoke before the Jones County Board of Commissioners last week for approval to advance a 3-cent fire tax on district residents to fund a full-time public safety employee.

The board consented and the residents will be able to vote for it in November.

Fire Chief Michael Jordan said Maysville has been receiving more daytime calls than some 25 volunteer crew members can respond to efficiently, mostly because of their work schedules.

“During the nights and weekends, I have a good response,” he said. “I have a lot of people that live within two or three blocks of town, but in the daytime, everybody works (and) nobody’s in town.”

He and Town Manager Jonathan Franklin presented information to the board about the benefits of the fire tax and how it will work to fund the full-time employee.

The seven fire districts in Jones County are funded $18,000 per year, which isn’t enough for some of the smaller units. The MVFD crew wants the county to continue this funding while they match it with the fire tax.

This combined $32,000 will cover a year’s salary for a prospective public safety officer, and Jordan said the crew already has a couple of people in mind.

The person would be certified in fire, emergency medical services and policing, having at least one of those certifications upon hire. It will be the only full-time, paid employee with MVFD, and Jordan is hoping the addition will resolve issues the fire department has with response times.

During the presentation, he said the shortage of daytime coverage is impairing response times. It can cause National Fire Protection Association to pull certifications, which would raise homeowner’s insurance.

The fire department and town officials have worked on imposing the tax for more than a year. They presented figures indicating the tax would average about $16 per year.

However, Town Hall officials can tell residents what they would pay if the tax passed.

Before commissioners approved the move, they urged leaders to thoroughly explain the fire tax to residents so they wouldn’t feel as if they were just paying another tax.

“I don’t see any disadvantages besides paying more taxes,” Franklin said. “No one likes to pay taxes, that’s the only negative aspect. It is a tax, but it’s a tax that people get to vote for.”

He said the town and fire department will rally Maysville residents for support.

“If they say no, then we’ve done all of this for nothing,” he said. “We’re really going to just go out there, plead our case and give the citizens a chance to vote yes or no.”

Jordan is hoping for a “yes” from Maysville because of how much he said it will benefit the residents.

“It’s not like we’re trying to raise money to go buy new equipment, more trucks or anything like that,” the fire chief said. “It’s to have somebody here in the daytime for the public.”

He said the hours of the employee would be roughly 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

“It helps speed up our response time,” Jordan said. “Hopefully if we grow, then we can add another person to the position.”

Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.