Laserfiche WebLink
Cabarrus Coun ,ty Public Safety Services <br /> <br />Review: Harrisburg Fire Protection Services <br /> <br />Over the last few months there a have been discussions about the possibility of the Town <br />of Harrisburg creating a municipal department for the purpose of providing fire <br />protection services. The County Board of Commissioners and several representatives of <br />the Harrisburg Town Council and the Harrisburg Fire and Life Safety Department met t° <br />discuss the advantages and disadvantages of such a proposal. After a lengthy discussion <br />the representatives of Harrisburg stated that they would prefer to continue with the <br />existing process. They also stated that they would be open to further discussion in the <br />future. <br /> <br />In December of 2002, Mr. Mark Martin, Harrisburg Town Councilman, contacted Frank <br />Clifton to further discuss the future of Harrisburg's fire protection methods. As a result <br />of that discussion, our office was instructed to research the process and legalities of how <br />a transition could be made. After a lengthy review of the North Carolina General Statutes <br />and discussions with Mr. Ben Loeb, of the North Carolina Institute of Government it was <br />noted that the proposed changes could be made as long as the proper procedures and legal <br />constraints were followed. <br /> <br />There will be two alt&matives available for the Town of Harrisburg: <br /> <br />The Town may adjust its tax levy to reflect pro .viding fire protection services and in <br />return contract with Harrisburg Fire and Life Safety to perform the services within the <br />Town limits. This would require the town to pay for the services of Harrisburg Fire <br />and Life Safety. <br />The Town may take on the responsibility of fire protection services within the Town <br />limits by creating a municipal fire department. This would initiate two options for <br />Harrisburg Fire and Life Safety: <br /> A. Dissolve its corporation and transfer all assets to the Town.of Harrisburg. <br /> This Would then require the county to negotiate with the Town to provide <br /> services in the remainder or unincorporated areas of the fire the district. Funds <br /> to provide the services would come from a fire district tax levied by the Board <br /> of Commissioners. <br /> 'B. Continue to operate as a corporation with the fire district reduced to include <br /> only the areas that have not been incorporated into the town limits of <br /> Harrisburg. In this case, provisions the annexation statutes would be <br /> followed. <br /> <br />*County and Town Attomeys will need to monitor the entire process. <br />**County Attorney would need to prepare proper documents to put the proposed <br />"Harrisburg Fire District" before the state legislature. <br /> <br /> <br />