Buncombe County consolidates 20 fire tax districts into a single countywide district after debate

Buncombe County commissioners voted April 21 to consolidate the county’s 20 fire service (tax) districts into one unified fire protection and ambulance/rescue tax district, a change county staff and many chiefs say is needed to create a more equitable, sustainable funding model for local volunteer and combined fire departments.

Raphael Baptista of Strategy and Innovation, who led the county’s work on the proposal, told the board the change is intended to preserve local fire insurance/response districts while changing how property taxes are collected and pooled. “There’s uneven financial sustainability across the fire departments,” he said, describing a wide spread of current district tax rates and departments that struggle to recruit, retain and equip staff.

Baptista and staff described a two‑step plan: first adopt basic countywide standards developed with the chiefs, then create a funding mechanism to meet those standards. The standards include staffing and response goals informed by NFPA guidance and local chiefs’ experience — for example, a goal that four firefighters arrive within eight minutes 80% of the time and that, for structure fires, crews reach a total of 22 firefighters on scene from multiple departments.

“Many departments came in asking for money to increase base salaries,” County staff said in the presentation, noting starting pay ranges across departments commonly fell between about $14–$16 per hour and that multiple departments requested funds to reach roughly $18 per hour to be more competitive.

Public comment was mixed. Retired firefighter Wayne Hamilton urged the board to move toward universal, countywide emergency-service funding: “Fire protection should be a service that’s provided equally across Buncombe County,” he said. Jupiter Fire Department board president Chuck Robinson opposed a flat countywide tax at this moment, citing uncertain rate impacts on his department’s taxpayers.

Commissioners asked whether the county had consulted peers; Baptista said staff reached out to other North Carolina counties that have adopted similar models and found generally positive experiences, with some counties making later adjustments. Commissioners also discussed how funds would be allocated, and staff said departments would remain independent nonprofits with local control over operations; the county manager would contract with each department to provide fire services within existing insurance districts.

After deliberation a commissioner moved to consolidate the existing service districts into a single fire protection and ambulance/rescue tax district; the motion carried, with one commissioner recorded as opposed. Staff told the board the fiscal‑year 26 illustrative unified tax rate would have been about 13.24 cents; a revenue‑neutral estimate for fiscal year 27 would be about 9.19 cents, and the amount to fully fund departmental requests would be roughly 14.45 cents — numbers the county manager said will be refined during upcoming budget deliberations.

The board instructed staff to continue work with chiefs and to present refined budget numbers at the May budget sessions. The manager said she would share recommended rates with chiefs before presenting her recommended budget to the board.

What happens next: The consolidation resolution will be folded into the county’s budget process; a recommended tax rate and implementation details are expected with the manager’s May budget recommendation and in subsequent contract documents with departments.