Fire Stations and Funding

Editor's Note: Franklin Moore is a candidate for Goose Creek City Council. Patch will be reaching out to all of the candidates about blogging with us. Visit our Election HQ for all the election details.

There are currently 3 proposed fire stations, Liberty Hall Station, a Station near Wal-Mart, and a Carnes Crossroads Station. They are all important especially Carnes since that area is currently the greatest distance away from a fire station. The Wal-Mart site is important because it would become the badly needed new headquarters. The current headquarters building on Brandywine Blvd is old and costly to maintain. The Liberty Hall Station would serve the rapidly developing Liberty Hall and Brickhope neighborhoods. Building a station is expensive but it is a one-time expense. Staffing and operations cost much more and it is a recurring yearly expense.

Funding is a sensitive topic and I'm sure you've heard that "taxes haven't been raised in 25 years."  It's true, taxes haven't been raised but our franchise fees are at the maximum allowed by state law (5%). Franchise fees are added to your utility bills. Now that franchise fees are maxed out, and residential development has slowed, how do we increase revenue?

We have to attract new businesses or find another clever way to “not raise taxes”. One way that’s been discussed is for the city to stop subsidizing trash collection. It costs the city about $135 per house/year ($11.25/mo) to collect trash. We only pay $75 per year (6.25/mo). With approximately 10,816 houses paying an additional $5/mo, revenue would increase about $650,000/yr. I am willing to pay the additional $5/month for my trash collection if it means supporting fire and police services to protect our families.

Another way that I propose to raise revenue is to slightly adjust water rates. Goose Creek serves approximately 7,000 houses. Currently, the water rates are among the lowest in the tri-county area. The water system is an Enterprise Fund. It pays for itself and additional revenue is only used for the water system for such things as capital improvements. If rates are slightly adjusted, additional revenue can be used to subsidize the general fund (even if only for high volume users on a tiered level). For my family of four (with two small children under 4 years old) we average around 5,000 gal/month and it costs me approx $14.35/mo. The same amount of water in Mt Pleasant costs approximately double at around $30 (not including sewer). If rates increased about $5/month on average, Goose Creek water rates would still remain low but would generate another $420,000/yr for protective services. Again, I am willing to pay the additional $5/mo for my water if it means supporting fire and police services to protect our families.

If Berkeley County starts curbside recycling in Goose Creek, the volume of refuse we send to the landfill will decline presenting an opportunity to renegotiate our contract with the landfill and save more money.

Please visit my website www.ElectMoore.com