A bipartisan measure aimed at preserving public safety and easing the financial burdens many Delaware volunteer fire companies are facing passed the Delaware Senate Tuesday afternoon.
House Bill 127 (HB 127) will enable Delaware’s county governments to impose a Fire Protection Fee. Currently, multiple fire companies are facing low volunteer numbers and must employ paid Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and firefighters to adequately service their communities.
Medicare and Medicaid are often slow to reimburse ambulance service providers and do not cover 100% of the costs required to administer services. Additionally, many fire company leaders have expressed concern that fundraising campaigns are no longer adequate to meet the growing financial demands.
This has created a monetary strain on fire companies and EMT service providers. To recoup costs to meet payroll and general budgetary necessities, companies are faced with either raising the price of services or cutting services completely.
HB 127 seeks to remedy this by giving each county government the option to impose the fee, which would then be used by local fire and ambulance services to mitigate costs and employ highly skilled personnel.
Under this Act, a county that enacts the fee must deposit all collected money in a segregated account, establish criteria for distributing the funds to fire companies, and after using no more than 5% of the money annually deposited from this fee for administration of this fee, distribute all of the money collected, including accrued interest, within 18 months of receipt. I. The Act allows for the fee to be collected from properties exempt from taxation unless the county provides an exemption. Counties can establish penalties for non-payment, and unpaid fees can become a lien on the property.
Additionally, fire companies must include the money received from the fee in their annual audits.
HB 127 passed both the House and Senate unanimously and now awaits the governor’s signature.