Town meeting held
By Nathan Straus News Reporter

Rusty Quattlebaum and Robert Chambers of the Brownsboro Volunteer Fire Department explain the finer points of an Emergency Services District.

The Brownsboro High School's Little Theater was the site of a town meeting April 24. Members of Brownsboro Volunteer Fire Department presented their case for a Brownsboro Emergency Services District, an issue which will appear on the May 10 ballot in Brownsboro Community Center.

The meeting began at 6:30 pm. Fire chief Robert Chambers and assistant chief Rusty Quattlebaum explained to an audience the facts of the ESD.

For the last three years, Quattlebaum said, the BVFD has fielded over 500 calls a year. If the members of the department were paid at minimum wage for work done for BVFD, the total cost would almost hit $250,000. At a firefighter's wage, the cost would as much as triple.

"From our community, we get close to $35,000 a year from fundraisers and donations, " Quattlebaum said.

Chambers said the department currently operates on a month to month budget, never knowing what next month's donations will bring in.

"Grants are harder and harder to get," Chambers said. "With an ESD we'll be able to set a yearly budget."

This is not all an ESD would do for BVFD.

At the meeting, a proposed ESD budget was compared to a recent budget. Though the proposed budget was only around $15,000 higher than the past budget, the proposed budget didn't take into account grants, bank loans and other extra money.

Quattlebaum said removing all grants and extra money from the equation and comparing donations and fundraisers against the ESD tax would mean a new budget that has nearly quadrupled.

The fire department suggested a tax of $.10 per $100 property valuation, though this amount will be decided if the ESD passes on May 10.

Though this would mean an increase in taxes, the amount saved in home insurance could more than make up for the ESD tax.

Jeff Smiley, Farmer's Insurance agent, said the savings will center on a number known as an "ISO rating".

Homes in Chandler have a rating of six, while homes in the Brownsboro City Limits have a rating of seven. Outside the limits bears ratings of nine and 10, 10 being the worst rating and one being the best.

"It's difficult to get a 10 to a nine," Smiley said. "It would take a substation."

Some of the prices Smiley quoted on addresses outside the city limits, home ratings of nine and 10, would receive insurance savings of well over $100 for property worth around $100,000. This would mean a net gain despite the ESD tax.

Chambers said one of the first big goals of his department should the ESD pass would be to build a substation. This would lower ISO ratings of homes in the area. A future goal would be to purchase a very sophisticated fire engine.

Quattlebaum said if the department buys this engine with certain features on it, the ISO rating of Brownsboro would drop two points the day it drove into town.

Chambers said it is important to get a Brownsboro ESD in place before the whole of Henderson County does the same.

"We're trying to beat the county to the punch," Chambers said.

Quattlebaum said it is hard to tell before the fact if a Henderson County ESD would be worse or better for BVFD and Brownsboro than a Brownsboro ESD, but he did say a local version would be more consistent.

"Our tax dollars wouldn't be going around the county," Quattlebaum said, "and we won't have to fight other fire departments to get it."

If the Brownsboro ESD passes before a Henderson County ESD, Brownsboro will be exempt from a Henderson County ESD tax.

Early voting for the ESD is already underway. It started April 28 and will continue to May 6. Early voting and the May 10 Election Day voting are at the Brownsboro Community Center and City Hall.