Durham County commissioners approve creation of Mangum Fire Protection Service District to fund local fire protection

Durham County commissioners voted unanimously to create the Mangum Fire Protection Service District, establishing a taxing district intended to fund continued fire protection where a volunteer department has said it can no longer operate without county support.

Mark Lockheart, director of the countyOffice of Emergency Services, told the board the proposed district covers 3.55 square miles, includes 268 taxable parcels with a total appraised value of $64,119,329, and has an estimated year-round population of about 500. "The proposed district is 3.55 square miles consisting of 268 taxable parcels with a total appraised value of 64,119,329," Lockheart said during the public hearing.

The staff report filed with the clerk on Feb. 6, 2026, says the Mariah Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department currently provides fire protection in the area without county funding and has informed county staff it cannot continue to do so because of rising operating costs. Lockheart told commissioners the county lacks the capital and personnel to meet established protection standards in that area without creating a service district.

The presentation included tax figures staff used for comparison: the county-only tax rate cited in the report for the proposed district for fiscal 2026 is given as 0.5542 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, and the report states that applying a rate of 0.0919 per $100 results in "an annual increase of $21,964" and separately references "or $18.30 30 cents monthly" in the transcript. The report also records an average property value in the proposed district of $239,000. The staff report did not specify in the hearing whether the $21,964 figure represented total district revenue, per-parcel revenue, or another calculation; commissioners asked staff to carry tax-rate-setting work forward through the annual budget process.

Chief Roger Wit and members of the Mariah department attended the hearing; no members of the public offered comment. Commissioners thanked Mariah volunteers for decades of unpaid service. After closing the public hearing, a motion was made and seconded to adopt the resolution creating the Mangum Fire Protection Service District, establish the district boundaries as described in the report and map, and authorize the provision of fire protection services within the district. The motion passed unanimously.

Next steps identified by staff include preparing a recommended tax rate for the district through the countybudget process; if approved by the board, the district would become effective at the start of the countyfiscal year. The hearing and staff report cited North Carolina General Statute Section 153A-320 (subsection C) as the statutory authority for the process.