Seven Wilkes County volunteer fire departments present tax-rate requests to commissioners

Seven volunteer fire departments asked the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners on May 29, 2025 to adopt fire tax rates different from the revenue-neutral rate for the county's 2025–2026 budget, citing rising costs, aging apparatus, and volunteer recruitment challenges.

Chair Shirley Randleman opened a series of public hearings beginning at 5:16 p.m. where representatives from Champion, Boomer, Cricket, Traphill, Goshen, Buck Shoals and Wilkes-Iredell volunteer fire departments presented their proposed rates and budgets and answered questions from the board and county staff.

The requests varied by department. Chris Golds, Chief of Champion Volunteer Fire Department, said Champion historically taxed at 11' but is asking to set a 9' rate for 2025'2026 because operating costs and parts have increased and some trucks are more than 30 years old. Wayne Shepherd, chairman of Champion's board, told commissioners that a revenue-neutral allocation would not allow the department to maintain current operations.

Brian Andrews, deputy chief and vice president of the Boomer Volunteer Fire Department board, said Boomer's board proposes a 9' rate. Andrews said the revenue-neutral rate (approximately .0649') would reduce income from the previous year and that a 9' rate would amount to about an $18 increase per household compared with the prior year. Andrews also described recent grant activity, noting they had an $80,000 grant with a required match and uncertainty over one 100% grant award.

At Cricket Volunteer Fire Department, Lieutenant Matt Blevins, board president, and Chief David Webb requested a 10' rate to fund a part‑time daytime staffing program, prepare for apparatus purchases and increase volunteer per‑call reimbursement from $7 to $10. Blevins said debt service for current equipment and facility payments totals about $84,500 per year. Resident Lee Roy Church spoke in support of Cricket's request.

Commissioner Hardin Kennedy recused himself from the Traphill hearing because he serves on that department's board. Traphill Chief Ethan Baker and Chief/board member Brian McDaniel presented a slide deck noting costs including about $4,500 for hose testing to meet ISO inspection requirements; Baker said they had not yet discussed that proposal with the county fire marshal.

Goshen Volunteer Fire Department representatives Mark Wood and Ray Kuneyl described capital and operational pressures. Wood said about half of Goshen's district is federal property that provides no tax revenue, that they ran roughly 120 calls last year, and that base-model fire trucks now cost about $450,000 with a two-year lead time. He said a recent state matching grant totaled about $39,000 (approximately $19,000 local match).

Buck Shoals Chief Chris Cheek and board president Marty Roberts requested a 5' rate, which they said has been their historical rate since the department started in 1978. Cheek said the department remains 100% volunteer and reported a roughly 96% increase in call volume year to date.

Reggie Settle, chief of Wilkes-Iredell Volunteer Fire Department, said his department serves parts of both Wilkes and Iredell counties, that membership is down and many residents are retirement age, and that the department is proposing to begin daytime paid staffing (10-hour shifts) to ensure daytime coverage. He also said station renovations and a truck replacement in three to four years are anticipated needs.

No formal county vote on rate changes occurred at the May 29 hearing; each department's request was heard and the public hearing record was closed for that item before proceeding to the next. Commissioner Kennedy moved to adjourn at 5:59 p.m.; Commissioner Evan Handy seconded and the board voted unanimously to adjourn.

The board will consider each department's budget and any recommended tax-rate changes as part of Wilkes County's broader 2025–2026 budget adoption process (no final county-level action on rates was recorded in the meeting minutes).