HARRISON COUNTY, W.Va. – In Harrison County, some residents are receiving a $150 bill for fire service from the Quiet Dell Rural Fire Protection District, and Commissioner Patsy Trecost said the bills are valid.
Trecost said the communities are using a measure that was passed by the Harrison County Commission in 1982, allowing municipalities that cover outer areas to bill those residents.
“No one had done that until probably 12 years ago, when Bridgeport expanded and created a fire service fee for the rural areas surrounding them that they cover as a professional fire department,” Trecost said.
The billing in Bridgeport was taken to court, and the measure passed in 1982 withstood the legal challenge.
“They proved it was legal per legislation and based on the 1982 vote of the Harrison County Commission at the time,” Trecost said.
Trecost said public meetings were held on the bills that were sent out the week of Oct. 9, but none of the commissioners or the county administrator were notified or had any knowledge the municipalities were considering this as a funding option. Many concerned people have been calling county offices, either to report a potential scam or to ask why and what for.
“We’re questioning: what are you even talking about?” Trecost said. “And it turns out Stonewood and Nutter Fort have sent out to all areas they cover a $150 fee.”
Some residents have voiced concerns about the existing fire service fee already in place in some areas and what this new influx of revenue will be used for. According to one resident, officials from Nutter Fort have sent 950 of the bills that would total $142,500.
“The cities did this on their own, and unfortunately, instead of breaking it up into 12 payments of $12.50, they hit our citizens with a $150 bill all at once,” Trecost said.