Bradford County hearing on $167 annual fire assessment draws sharp debate over cost, coverage and exemptions

Bradford County commissioners heard more than two hours of public comment and a detailed presentation by Fire Chief Ben Carter on a proposed fire protection assessment that would fund staffing and operations, including a new station in Brooker.

Chief Ben Carter told the Board of County Commissioners the county’s fire-rescue operations have fallen short of national staffing benchmarks and that response times fall well behind NFPA guidance. “Our average response time right now is 9 minutes and 18 seconds,” Carter said, and he summarized a long-running staffing shortfall that left the county operating fewer ambulances and fewer full-time employees than an earlier 2020 operations plan envisioned.

The assessment in the resolution presented to the board would set a residential rate of $167 per dwelling unit for fiscal year 2025–26, a nonresidential rate of $0.11 per square foot and a $47 charge for vacant, nonagricultural parcels. Chief Carter said the $167 rate “breaks down to $13.92 per month,” and that the charge is designed to fund added personnel to improve coverage, including two positions per day to staff a new Brooker station funded by an $850,000 state appropriation. He also outlined an appeals process for properties that the county property appraiser’s records misclassify and listed exemptions for churches, nonprofits, government-owned buildings, 100% disabled…