It’s going to take more than selling chicken and catfish plates to fill the gaps of Oktibbeha County’s seven volunteer fire departments’ budgets.
Fire chiefs, led by East Oktibbeha County Volunteer Fire Department’s Greg Ball, asked supervisors Monday to consider increasing Oktibbeha County Fire Services’ funding in the coming fiscal year, as some operational revenue line items have remained level for more than two decades as expenses have grown.
Many departments, Ball said, have recently turned to selling plate dinners at local fundraisers to supplement purchases and other expenses.
Supervisors took the request under advisement since fire services representatives did not ask for a specific amount of money.
After the meeting, District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer said he would support a small millage increase to help firefighters.
“They put all of their cards on the table to let us know what they’re dealing with. They do a great job, and they’ve all been great stewards of their resources,” he said. “The county has grown tremendously — so much so that it’s outgrown their own budgets’ pace. I’d definitely be in favor of an increase for them, or maybe a one-time allocation. We need to have (funding levels) where they need to be so they can build up capital for a lot of these purchases.”
Fire chiefs agreed to supply the board with their own departments’ comprehensive plans before supervisors enter into budget planning for Fiscal Year 2017-18.
In the coming months and years, many departments are facing many high-cost purchases, Ball said, from self-contained breathing apparatuses to replacing pumper trucks with newer models fire departments need to maintain their ratings from the Mississippi State Ratings Bureau.
Three Oktibbeha County volunteer fire departments have expanded their ratings areas, and five of the seven have reduced their overall class ratings. Each department is actively working to either maintain or improve their individual fire ratings, which in turn provide savings on insurance premiums to property owners.
Additional funding, Ball said, will help the fire services defray those costs.
“Fires are not put out with water. They are put out with money,” said Oktibbeha County Fire Services Coordinator Kirk Rosenhan.
Besides funding for new equipment, Ball and other fire chiefs said manpower is also a crucial need to maintain or improve fire ratings.
Implementing the county’s first fire codes — one that would force large apartment complexes to install sprinklers, for example — could also assist one district seeking a Class 6 rating, Ball said.
Oktibbeha County has no fire code outside of state-mandated requirements.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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