Watts: Taxing county residents for city fire protection ‘unfair and immoral’

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Judge Executive Dean Watts talks with firefighters after his press conference regarding the city’s push to fund a fulltime fire department.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015, 2:45 p.m. — At a press conference Tuesday morning, Nelson County Judge Executive Dean Watts asked the City of Bardstown to slow its move to a fulltime fire department and work with the volunteer fire department in order to maintain fire protection the city can afford without raising taxes.

Watts noted that city officials have changed the topic from assertions city government is subsidizing fire protection in the county, to now saying the city needs a fulltime fire department.

“Forty-five volunteers must vacate the premises, and taxpayers will now have to pay for staffing of these services,” he said. “Perhaps the real debate among city officials first and foremost should be to decide if the city should continue to fund services that otherwise it could not afford with utility subsidies.”

Judge Executive Dean Watts speaks with Councilman Bobby Simpson following Watts’ press conference.

Watts said he decided to call a press conference partly to assure county residents that fire protection in the county will not suffer in the face of the separation of the city-funded fire department and the dues-funded volunteer department.

Watts said the funding issue isn’t exactly as cut-and-dried as has been described by city officials.

Approximately 70 percent of the city occupational tax revenue is collected from non-city residents, and Watts said city officials are not giving residents credit for their role in helping fund city services by paying the occupational tax.

“This type of mentality leads to citizens not having faith in their government, and perhaps leads to a greater divide that isn’t good for Bardstown and Nelson County,” he said.

The press conference was dominated by firefighters from both departments as well as elected city and county officials.

Watts said it was “unfair and immoral” to use county taxpayers to fund the services the city cannot afford.

With three members of the Bardstown City Council in the audience, Watts offered four recommendations:

1. Slow the drive to fund a 24/7 fire service, and suggested that the volunteers can help maintain excellent fire protection at no additional cost to the city or county residents.

2. Accept the Bardstown-Nelson County Volunteer Fire Department’s request for automatic mutual aid. “This will keep fire protection at today’s level, even with two separate stations and two separate chiefs,” Watts said.

Judge Executive Dean Watts asked the City of Bardstown to slow its drive to fund a fulltime fire department and to work with the volunteer fire department, even if the two are no longer housed in the same fire station.

3. Keep the fire departments on the same frequency in order to maintain good communications. Bardstown Fire Chief Marlin Howard told Watts the city fire department had applied for its own frequency because the existing fire frequency was assigned to the volunteer department, and they had the rights to determine who use it.

“I would be remiss in my duties if I hadn’t gone ahead and planned for our own frequency,” Howard explained. Having the additional frequency does not mean the two fire departments can’t share the same frequency.

4. Finally, Watts outlined a long-term vision of integrating the EMS service with the volunteer fire department. “I believe this is the most cost-effective method to improve fire protection to our citizens,” he said.

Combining the EMS and the fire services is a concept that deserve study as the county continues to grow, he said.

“The Mayor, Councilman [Bill] Buckman and Councilman [Fred] Hagan were wrong on the recent annexation plan of the distilleries, and they are wrong on this issue too,” Watts said. “The City of Bardstown has enough challenges every day without creating battles that everyone loses.”

NEXT UP. The Bardstown City Council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday to hold first reading on its 2015-16 budget.

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