Bill heats up local fire chiefs

ROBERT W. DALTON, Staff Writer

COLUMBIA -- A bill sponsored by Rep. Scott Talley has the leaders of some of Spartanburg County's fire departments steaming.

Talley's bill would give Spartanburg County Council the power to appoint board members to the county's special-purpose tax districts. Those districts include fire departments, water districts and, in some instances, neighborhoods that arrange for such items as trash pickup and maintenance.

The Legislative Delegation currently appoints board members.

Talley, a Spartanburg Republican, said giving appointment power to the council is the first step in a process to make the special-purpose districts more accountable to taxpayers.

"There are many SPDs in Spartanburg County that are responsible and accountable," Talley said. "But there are others that have the mindset that this is their fiefdom, and anything that touches that is unacceptable."

Spartanburg County Administrator Glenn Breed said about 16 of the county's 43 fire departments are special-purpose districts. He said the county would "entertain any discussion with the Legislative Delegation to participate in any long-term strategy with all the fire service providers."

But Phil Jolley, chief of the Pelham-Batesville Fire Department, said he didn't think the change was "such a good idea."

"We've always worked well with the delegation," Jolley said. "I know Mr. Talley had to work out some problems with the Arkwright department, but he's trying to lump us all in the same pile. We don't have those problems."

Concerns over service and accountability at the Arkwright department last year led Talley to introduce legislation increasing the district's number of commissioners from three to five.

Jolley said he learned of Talley's proposal Monday and met with the chiefs of several other districts to work out a response.

"Just tell us what the problems are and give us a chance to address them before putting in a piece of legislation without giving us a chance," Jolley said.

Support for the legislation isn't unanimous among delegation members.

Rep. Ralph Davenport, R-Boiling Springs, added an amendment removing the Boiling Springs and North Spartanburg departments from the legislation.

"Both are in my district and I appoint the boards," Davenport said. "Both are among the finest departments in Spartanburg County, and in South Carolina."

Because of the outcry, Talley said he would put the bill on the backburner to allow the districts to work on accountability issues. The deadline, however, is January, when he will begin pushing the bill through the House.

Bubba Littlejohn, a board member with the Croft Fire Department, said the districts now have an opportunity to facilitate change rather than have it forced on them.

And the changes he said he would like to see are the consolidation and cooperation of departments.

"We have more fire departments than any county in the state, but we have more fire deaths than anyone in the state," Littlejohn said. "Why is that? It's because we're not doing our jobs."

Littlejohn said the job is more than putting out fires. It includes educating the public on how to prevent fires, and that isn't being done, he said.

"Some of the change is going to be painful," Littlejohn said. "But we must never lose sight of who we're here to serve, the citizens of Spartanburg County."

Robert W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7274 or bob.dalton@shj.com.