During the meeting, Mayor Gene Hobgood presented numbers to demonstrate how much Canton residents would pay in property taxes if the city considered three options to enhance fire protection.
Hobgood said he only presented the numbers to inform the council and the public of the potential costs.
“I just wanted to lay it out there,” he said during the meeting.
Currently, the city uses 2.88 of its 6.8 mills for fire services, which costs about $230 for a homeowner with a $200,000 home.
If the city built one new fire station, the city would have to add 1.88 mills to its current 2.88 mills used for fire services, bringing the rate to 4.76.
That would mean the homeowner of a $200,000 home would pay $380 in property taxes.
If the city built two new fire stations, it would add an additional 3.75 mills, bringing its total millage rate for fire services to 6.63 mills.
That would cost about $530 for a taxpayer owning a home valued at $200,000.
If Canton consolidates with Cherokee County, which Hobgood said would result in two new fire stations, two ambulances housed in the city and the city having firefighters trained as emergency medical technicians, the city would only pay the county’s fire district tax of 3.129 mills.
That would cost the average homeowner with a $200,000 home about $250 in taxes, just $20 more than what residents currently pay now.
However, that would also mean the city’s senior citizens currently receiving a homestead exemption would also have to pay $250 for the fire tax.
Councilmember Bob Rush noted the city could consider “other options” such as implementing its own fire district tax.
Councilman Bill Bryan agreed, noting it was “good” that everyone in the city pays its fair share for fire services.
Councilmember John Beresford said Hobgood’s document was good to have, but pointed out his only issue.
“We’ll have a reduced level of service with Cherokee County,” he said.
Canton earlier this year began exploring ways to shore up its fire protection earlier this year with the establishment of a committee.
The committee reviewed several options on the table, including building up to three fire stations or merging its operations with the county.
The committee last month however returned with a recommendation to maintain its ISO rating of 4, which wound include the city introducing routine testing of its fire truck pumpers, performing load testing on its ladders and using a secondary method of communicating, such as pagers, with on-duty and off-duty firefighters.
That option, a recommendation issued by a consultant, would keep the city’s Insurance Service Office, or ISO, rating at 4.
The ISO system is used to rate how well fire departments serve their area.
The scale runs from one to 10, with one being the best fire service. The ratings are used to calculate homeowners’ insurance costs.
City and county leaders have met in the last several months to review what could be done to make consolidation a viable option.
A Service Delivery Strategy, adopted in 2009 by the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners and municipalities, includes a fire services agreement that would allow the county to work with the city to jointly build a fire station.
That agreement stipulates both entities building a new station near Laurel Canyon, replacing the county’s North Canton station on Highway 140/Reinhardt College Parkway, and another near Commerce Boulevard, replacing Cherokee’s Hickory Flat station on Highway 140/Hickory Flat Highway east of Interstate 575.
As the population gets older the need for medically trained responders are rising. Fire Departments just don't put out fires anymore. Canton needs to merge with the County and get rid of the egos. Everyone says they want whats best for the citizens, what they should say is .. they want whats gonna get them re-elected.