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Simpsonville Fire Service Area seeks five-mill increase and bond to boost pay, staffing and response level
Summary
The Greenville County finance committee approved a request from Simpsonville Fire Service Area for a five-mill operating millage increase and authorization to issue a general obligation bond to fund new apparatus and staffing; Chief Harold Nichols said the measures aim to raise pay, add personnel and upgrade medical response from BLS to ALS.
Chief Harold Nichols, fire chief for the city of Simpsonville, told the Greenville County Committee on Finance the department requests a five-mill increase in the operating millage for the Simpsonville Fire Service Area to implement recommendations from a third-party compensation and classification study and to expand staffing and service delivery.
"The study found that the department is paying salaries about 17% below market and we have paycale compression by rank," Nichols said, describing the study's conclusion and the committee's need to bring pay to the market midpoint rather than the top. Nichols said the millage increase would also support hiring to establish a dedicated truck company and improve staffing levels on scene—steps the department says could help maintain or improve its ISO rating.
Nichols also requested approval for the county to issue a general obligation bond that would cover the county's portion of a new front-line fire engine; he said lead times for new engines can be roughly four years and that the city will purchase a second engine. The bond authorization would allow the county to enter into the necessary contract so the apparatus can be built to schedule.
Committee members questioned whether the proposal had community pushback; one member reported speaking with council members and encouraged the move to improve ISO-related insurance-rate outcomes. The committee approved both the millage increase request and the GO bond authorization by voice vote.
The committee did not record a detailed numeric roll call in the transcript; motions passed by voice votes. The meeting did not specify a final per-unit purchase price for the engine in a clear numeric form in the transcript.
