Thayer VFD wants rural residents to pay fire dues

i would rather pay an annual fee than have poor fire service. The fees are usually 25 to 50 $ a year, most everyone can manage that.

It's a great idea to keep the Fire Dept funded so they can have the equipment to respond.

There are three ways government can raise money for a service. Coercive taxation hikes, borrowing money from some other government entity or private lender, or fees that people voluntarily pay (AKA voluntary taxation). Raising local sales tax or sucking it out of some state general fund is immoral. So I'm glad to hear they are doing it right in a small town.

My only question is what happens when someone doesn't pay their dues and has a fire? Will the fire department let their house burn down possibly endangering their neighbor's property? Or, hopefully, they would just bill them. I've heard stories of some small town (in Georgia?) where this happened and the fire department just stood there and watched the house burn (even though the man who hadn't payed dues expressed his willingness to pay for them to put it out). It was a strange story.

People should not force other people to pay for services that they don't use, so this is a good way to collect the revenue.

altononline wrote:

There are three ways government can raise money for a service. Coercive taxation hikes, borrowing money from some other government entity or private lender, or fees that people voluntarily pay (AKA voluntary taxation). Raising local sales tax or sucking it out of some state general fund is immoral. So I'm glad to hear they are doing it right in a small town.

My only question is what happens when someone doesn't pay their dues and has a fire? Will the fire department let their house burn down possibly endangering their neighbor's property? Or, hopefully, they would just bill them. I've heard stories of some small town (in Georgia?) where this happened and the fire department just stood there and watched the house burn (even though the man who hadn't payed dues expressed his willingness to pay for them to put it out). It was a strange story.

People should not force other people to pay for services that they don't use, so this is a good way to collect the revenue.

"Chief Arnold says one thing that he wants residents in the area to understand is that membership or not...

We'll go wherever we're called. We don't discriminate about that. We'll worry about the administrative paperwork later."

Thayer has high taxes. I have been involved in Thayer "government" and have seen the wasteful spending of the Thayer police department. They buy a new car and wreck it within a month. Then scrap it and buy another. We can take the excess funds from the PD and place it in the fire department. Trust me, if we had an outside source to search through the Thayer PD records they would be disgusted.

Please, do tell which car was crashed and scraped

Wacko Tabacco wrote:

<quoted text>
"Chief Arnold says one thing that he wants residents in the area to understand is that membership or not...
We'll go wherever we're called. We don't discriminate about that. We'll worry about the administrative paperwork later."

I'm glad. I hope you see that I am for membership dues as opposed to tax hikes. From a liberty perspective it makes so much more sense.

And if a the Thayer Fire Department does put out a fire for a non member then that fire victim should obviously pay the fire department the due after the fact. I am so happy Thayer is doing something to recognize individual liberty, whether that is their intent or not.

The dues are for the "Rural Fire Dept" not the City Fire Dept, so therefore the city cops can't fund a rural FD.

jdg wrote:

Thayer has high taxes. I have been involved in Thayer "government" and have seen the wasteful spending of the Thayer police department. They buy a new car and wreck it within a month. Then scrap it and buy another. We can take the excess funds from the PD and place it in the fire department. Trust me, if we had an outside source to search through the Thayer PD records they would be disgusted.

jgd doesn't know what they're talking about

Have you seen all the money wasted on the crap they buy? We pay more than enough in taxes to keep water in their barrels. Thayer has always been known as corrupt as far as tax funds. They have what they need. Put out our fires or we will get someone else to do it, you thieving bastards. Next time, I will call Mammoth, which gets by on about 17% of what Thayer gets. Why is that? Where does the money go, Mark?

Call me on my numbers, Mark. I got them.

Thayer Rural Fire Dept. is not taxed based. You can be covered by a membership for $35.00 dollars a year and not pay anything if you have a fire or pay 20 times more if not covered.

I would gladly pay this. I have fire insurance but at the same time many of the things I value the mostcant be replaced with the check I would get. If a stranger wants to risk his life for those things its a small price to pay for him to be safe.

As a volunteer fireman for Thayer I would like to say this is for Rural dues, everyone that lives in the city limits is covered under the city taxes.. And for the ones that like to complain or think that they could do a better job, it is a volunteer department and you are more than welcome to put in a application!! We take pride in trying to do a good job, and if you think it isn't good enough come and how us how you can do a better job..

Jonathan Grimes wrote:

Have you seen all the money wasted on the crap they buy? We pay more than enough in taxes to keep water in their barrels. Thayer has always been known as corrupt as far as tax funds. They have what they need. Put out our fires or we will get someone else to do it, you thieving bastards. Next time, I will call Mammoth, which gets by on about 17% of what Thayer gets. Why is that? Where does the money go, Mark?

As far as the city itself goes, the spending may be a little frivalous but I can't say it goes as far as being corrupt. The Fire Department is a whole other story. In the time that Mark has stepped up to th position of Chief, yes money has been spent. But it has been spent as strategically as possible to better provide a service for the community with what is available. And most purchases have been through government grants.

The beauty of the Fire Service is ISO (Internation Organization for Standardization) Any money spent in the Police, Street, Water Depts, etc may better help the community, but doesn't pay off for the community like the Fire Dept. If the FD makes advancements whether they take spending money or not, it helps the ISO rating of that department. The rating is on a scale of 1-10 (1 being best and 10 being worst) If they Thayer FD can use these funds to lower their rating, it can overall lower insurance rates for the sitizens of the service area, saving them money in many aspects.

In conclusion, before you trash the guys who are putting their lives on the line just to help you when you need it most, do your research. It may pay off in the end ;)

Jason Baker wrote:

As a volunteer fireman for Thayer I would like to say this is for Rural dues, everyone that lives in the city limits is covered under the city taxes.. And for the ones that like to complain or think that they could do a better job, it is a volunteer department and you are more than welcome to put in a application!! We take pride in trying to do a good job, and if you think it isn't good enough come and how us how you can do a better job..

Thank you Jason and all the volunteer fire fighters, you all do a great job and I would be happy to pay the dues, small price to pay for our rural protection!

Jonathan Grimes wrote:

Have you seen all the money wasted on the crap they buy? We pay more than enough in taxes to keep water in their barrels. Thayer has always been known as corrupt as far as tax funds. They have what they need. Put out our fires or we will get someone else to do it, you thieving bastards. Next time, I will call Mammoth, which gets by on about 17% of what Thayer gets. Why is that? Where does the money go, Mark?

it's the Rural Fire dept. u idiot (which is NOT tax based) and further more the there currently is no "tax" ear marked for the City Fire Dept! Get ur dam facts straight!!!

i hope IF they want us to pay an annual fee they will send out a letter to us all so we know this is fact.

It's a fact. You can go down to the police station and pick up an application

It can be a slippery slope.
$50 this year $500 in 10yrs? I mean did you ever see a fee go down in price?
Will your insurance raise your rates or cancel you if you don't pay?
What happens if they show up and can't save your structure, do you get your money back?
How can there be a price for fighting a fire, the men are volunteers and the station and equipment are fixed overhead bought and paid for by your already taxed dollar.
If they need new equipment, pass the hat or have a bake sale or move part of the city budget to pay for it. I am assuming that the city has a budget and that the fire dept is included in said budget, if not it sure should be.I have a household budget and it does not include $4.16 a month for the fire dept when part of the nearly $200 a month I pay in sales and property tax already cover the fire dept.
I am telling you, it starts at $50 a year and goes right on up.