Conway, Severn volunteer departments seek new fire-tax districts to cover rising vehicle and equipment costs

Conway and Severn volunteer fire departments presented public hearings to the Northampton County Board of Commissioners on proposed fire-tax districts, asking the board to approve new local tax rates to support aging equipment, certification costs and routine operations.

The Conway Fire Department representative said Conway is proposing a 7¢ tax rate to cover an estimated annual operating and debt service total of about $218,000 if the department buys a replacement pumper for about $650,000. "We're only getting about $26,000 total for guaranteed every year from the town and county," the Conway Fire Department representative said, describing current municipal and county support of roughly $18,000 and $8,500 respectively.

The Conway presenter described call volumes, staffing and training: about 125–140 calls in the past year, 1,777 training hours and roughly 2,124 person-hours. He said Conway operates three main front-line apparatus (one 29 years old, one 26 years old and a mini-pumper at 21 years old) and noted that a comparable new pumper now costs roughly $600,000–$650,000. He also described recurring expenses such as insurance (about $11,000–$12,000 annually), pump certification (about $10,000 annually) and equipment replacement spending of about $27,000 in the last year.

The Conway presenter noted state and national updates to standards that could increase costs, including potential limits on personal protective equipment lifespans and new training/medical fitness requirements. He also said the department’s pension is paid by members through the state plan, not by the department, and that volunteer firefighters are unpaid.

The Severn Fire Department representative described a similar situation and asked for a 5.5¢ fire tax for the Severn district. "We have spent this past year about 8,000 dollars on repairs and testing of the trucks," the Severn Fire Department representative said, adding that Severn operates a mobile air-compressor/cascade trailer used in mutual-aid responses and maintains a roster of about 20 volunteers plus junior members.

Both presenters said volunteer staffing, equipment testing and certification requirements — including periodic pump testing, air-bottle testing and other maintenance — create steady costs that donations and occasional fundraisers no longer reliably cover.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about pensions, insurance, truck maintenance schedules and ISO rating effects on homeowner insurance. One commissioner thanked volunteers and said the county would address the requests; another noted Conway’s long resistance to creating a fire tax but acknowledged current fiscal pressures.

The board did not vote on the fire-tax proposals at the hearing. A motion was made to defer voting until the board’s next regular meeting so the full commission can be present. The motion passed by voice vote; individual roll-call votes were not recorded on the transcript.

The county manager said the Conway and Severn property-value adjustments would be reflected in the materials prepared for the upcoming vote.

The public comment period produced no substantive public objections recorded on the transcript for either district hearing.

The board’s next regular meeting was announced as the venue for votes on the proposed fire-tax districts and related budget items.