I agree. Let's focus on something that will benefit all the citizens of Goose Creek instead of worrying about wheter or not Crowfield has a golf course that loses money.

Thank you Jerry for continuing to persue this project that will eventually better serve the residents of Goose Creek.

The city is definitely in need of expanded fire coverage. Like you said it has been at the top of the Strategic Plan for several years. I know the idea of raising the trash fee to help offset the cost of staffing has been brought up before. Hopefully the staff can come up with a way to move this project forward in the near future. I have followed the election coverage on the Patch and Mr Moore is a supporter of the new fire stations as well. Keep at it and I look forward to seeing more developments in the near future.

I appreciate the positive comments. The first step is to get Council to make an offer on the property so we can begin the negotiation process. That was my intent this month when I asked for a workshop to be scheduled so we can decide on an amount. Unfortunately, I haven't been notified of any workshop being scheduled by the Mayor. I will continue to bring this up until we make some headway.

What about the fire station that was to be built in Libert Hall Plantation?

Thank you for the comment Mary. The city does indeed have plans to build 3 additional fire stations to include Liberty Hall, The Oaks and Carnes Crossroads. Unfortunately we need to get the process moving and that begins with the new Headquarter station and the then Brandywine.

Can I ask if these new fire stations have been at the top of the Strategic Plan for several years, why is it taking so long? I have heard the mayor say that taxes in Goose Creek have not been raised for a lot of years (sorry cannot remember the number of years) maybe its time to raise them just enough to pay for these new fire stations and the staff to run them. I do not think that cost would be very much to each individual homeowner and I am sure that would be a tax increase that most homeowners would not object to, being the fact it's to protect their home and could mean the difference between saving their home or it literally going up in smoke.

The plan to build a new Headquarter station was moved to a top priority during the past few years. The delay has been primarily the result of not being able to acquire the property along Hwy 176 to accomplish our plan. I would like City Council to authorize City Staff to make an offer on the property so the negotiations could proceed. Once this is successful, which I am confident it will be we can move forward.

After the HQ station is completed, the plan would then proceed to renovating the Brandywine location. City Staff has indicated that we have the funds to build both now but will need to determine staff funding. I've spoken directly with the Fire Chief and he indicates that 12 new firefighters would be needed to staff it efficiently. That equates to somewhere in the 750,000/year cost to the city.

Jerry, my next question then would be this, how many homes and businesses pay taxes to The City of Goose Creek?

Mary, I don't have the exact numbers in front of me but it is my understanding that the City has approx. 10,800 single family residences in our city with that number growing as new homes are currently being built. For this current fiscal year, the city receives approx. $2,000,000 in real property and personal property tax out of our expected budget of a little over $16,200,000. The largest component of the city's revenues are generated from Business License fees which are expected to be $4,600,000 for this fiscal year followed by Franchise fees of $2,400,000. As you can see the property tax is not the primary source of our revenue. In addition, our residents pay approx. $1,200,000 in recreation fees to support the Recreation Dept. On th expenditure side, the Police and Fire Dept account for nearly $10,000,000 of our annual expenses. We have benefited greatly by having our revenues generated from a wide variety of sources which has enabled City Council to continue to improve our city without having to impact services. It is our intent that we will pay off the debt on the Crowfield Golf Course and basically be debt free as a city in 2012. While you can disagree on how we spend our money at times, I would say that during these very difficult economic times that all of us have faced these past several years, our city has not suffered as a result.

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Mary
2:39 pm on Saturday, April 21, 2012
If I understand you correctly you are saying to staff the new firehouse headquarters it would take 12 men at a salary of approx $750,000, you also say we have 10,800 single family homes with more on the way. Just based on that amount it would cost the average homeowner $69.44 per year to cover that cost but I have not even included businesses in that figure nor any State or Government grants we may be eligible for nor the new homes that are being built so it would not even be as high as $69.44. I am just a simple homeowner so I am asking " am I wrong." ?

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Jerry, I firmly believe that Fire Departments are unique in their service is based on proximity. They are more likely to respond to fires closer than farther from their stations, which is why they are needed based on neigborhood growth. There needs to be a graduated system setup to support all our fire deparments. Federal grants should be excluded from this system, and state should be limited to infrastructure (actual building).

Mary, you are not wrong however the City receives revenues from not only our residents but our commercial businesses and those businesses received the same essential services that our residents enjoy. The cost to provide those services are not solely on our residents. It is my understanding the City Staff will be making recommendations to City Council and I am sure there will be plenty of discussions on staffing the fire station. I would like to point out that the 12 new firefighters that I mention would more then likely be stationed at the new Brandywine station with those existing firefighters moving to the Headquarter station upon its completion. Greg I too believe that the Fire Dept service is based on proximity and that is how that department is evaluated on. We can't afford to build everything that is needed at once and it will need to be a process that is completed in stages and over time.

UPDATE - At last nights meeting, City Council authorized the Mayor and City Administrator to begin contract negotiations for the proposed Headquarters Fire Station located along Hwy 176. While this does not guarantee a new fire station, it is an important step in determining the viable of this location for a Headquarter station.