What is the problem with Tennessee and the lack of funding for public safety?

[danielj72]

Originally Posted by An Einnseanair

The house that was let burn: No pay, no spray: Firefighters let home burn - US news - Life | NBC News

The homeowner said he "forgot", but in reality he hadn't been a subscriber for years. I understand their policy, but I don't agree with it.

Personally I live just outside city limits. City resident taxes pay for fire, plus police, sewer, garbage pickup, brush pickup, landfill access, and a few other benefits.

As a county resident I don't have to pay city taxes and have to pay a little over $100/year for a subscription service to a top-rated volunteer fire department. But if I wasn't a subscriber, they would still show up and fight the fire... then send a huge bill.

What you have said about billing the non subscribers is the way I always thought it worked in most counties. If you call them and you have not payed you will receive a bill of thousands of dollars. Fireman letting a house burn is unbelievable....completely immoral. The homeowner should be able to sue them. Local politics at its worst.

[doc1]

Originally Posted by danielj72

What you have said about billing the non subscribers is the way I always thought it worked in most counties. If you call them and you have not payed you will receive a bill of thousands of dollars. Fireman letting a house burn is unbelievable....completely immoral. The homeowner should be able to sue them. Local politics at its worst.

What if the willingly non-paying homeowners are sent a bill and they refuse to pay and their home catches fire?

Maybe the volunteer fire dept should be able take ownership of the house the same way the gov't does when people don't pay their property taxes for services.

Or they get first dibs for any and all expenses associated with their efforts on any homeowner's insurance proceeds before the homeowners do.

Would you be okay with those ideas?

To me what's "completely immoral", as you put it, is anybody expecting a free ride especially when men and women risk their lives providing those services.

[JOinGA]

Originally Posted by danielj72

What you have said about billing the non subscribers is the way I always thought it worked in most counties. If you call them and you have not payed you will receive a bill of thousands of dollars. Fireman letting a house burn is unbelievable....completely immoral. The homeowner should be able to sue them. Local politics at its worst.

Isn't it immoral to expect there to be a fire department to come save your home when you have not contributed a penny to build the firehouse, buy the trucks, buy the equipment or train and pay the staff? People are gambling that their house will never catch on fire and they will NEVER pay a bill, yet they sleep at night know there are firefighters on-call at a moment's notice if they ever need it. Paid for by others. It should not be allowed.

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by JOinGA

Isn't it immoral to expect there to be a fire department to come save your home when you have not contributed a penny to build the firehouse, buy the trucks, buy the equipment or train and pay the staff? People are gambling that their house will never catch on fire and they will NEVER pay a bill, yet they sleep at night know there are firefighters on-call at a moment's notice if they ever need it. Paid for by others. It should not be allowed.

Exactly how an accountable, common-sense filled Conservative would view it. Pay your own way, no free government handout (Service).

Welcome to reality, the land where "good feelings" should not be government policy.

[LauraC]

I moved from a Maryland suburb where the fire department was volunteer. I moved to Maryland from a Long Island, NY suburb that was all volunteer. Where I grew up on Long Island, NY, the fire department was volunteer. If it was important to you, you should have checked before you moved here and if you didn't want it, maybe you shouldn't have moved to where you did. My East Tennessee town has a paid fire department, its own paid police force in addition to the county police and its own school district. Not seeing a difference from when I lived on Long Island or in Maryland and had a volunteer fire department for my town except I don't give an annual donation to the paid fire department here. My Tennessee town does have higher property taxes than some surrounding towns.

It's the same thing people have been saying for years in every town which attracts people that want what they had in the places they fled. The job of newcomers is to fit in, not change the town they moved to.

[onlymike]

In the old days fire depts. were originally set up by insurance companies and you would have a large metal plaque on the front of your house if you had fire insurance. If there was a fire in town these insurance companies would send crews to the fire and if there was a plaque men would go in and remove your stuff and try to put out the fire using the crude tools of the time.If there wasn't a plaque your house would burn. But then as fires spread and destroyed whole cities in the late 1800 or early 1900's, think the Great Chicago fire since whole cities were made of wood. It was thought that it made since to fight every fire not just for the people who payed since it could destroy your whole city not just your house. Just a little history may not be totally correct.

[JOinGA]

Originally Posted by LauraC

I moved from a Maryland suburb where the fire department was volunteer. I moved to Maryland from a Long Island, NY suburb that was all volunteer. Where I grew up on Long Island, NY, the fire department was volunteer. If it was important to you, you should have checked before you moved here and if you didn't want it, maybe you shouldn't have moved to where you did. My East Tennessee town has a paid fire department, its own paid police force in addition to the county police and its own school district. Not seeing a difference from when I lived on Long Island or in Maryland and had a volunteer fire department for my town except I don't give an annual donation to the paid fire department here. My Tennessee town does have higher property taxes than some surrounding towns.

It's the same thing people have been saying for years in every town which attracts people that want what they had in the places they fled. The job of newcomers is to fit in, not change the town they moved to.

Paying a subscription to a profit-making fire service is NOT the same as a volunteer fire department.

It is not my "job" to "fit in" when I see something that I think is wasteful or unjust. Whether I moved here yesterday or my family has been here 100 years, I get the same vote as anyone else. That is how it works in America.

[Igor Blevin]

The benefit of low taxation is that I can direct that money to services I want rather than a government body choosing for me, and often misallocating money to services I don't want. I would be happy to subscribe to a fire department out of pocket when government has not encumbered that money from me manditorily. I wish more services were ala carte like that. Then if I did not want a particular service, I could elect not to pay for it.

I don't know if fire service should work that way as my non-paying neighbors fire could impact my house. But the concept is sound.

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by JOinGA

Paying a subscription to a profit-making fire service is NOT the same as a volunteer fire department.

It is not my "job" to "fit in" when I see something that I think is wasteful or unjust. Whether I moved here yesterday or my family has been here 100 years, I get the same vote as anyone else. That is how it works in America.

IF the issue is that important to you then the onus is on you to research before moving. Of course you have a vote, but OTOH if you push your agenda in an area where the majority are happy with the status quo you risk becoming one of THOSE people. You know, the ones that are perceived as busybody outsiders who move in and try to turn a new place into the same kind of place they left. You aren't going to 'fix' something if the other residents don't agree that it's broken.

[Beretta]

This thread has gotten twisted from the OP. Time to close and hope all are safe out there!