Reproduced from The
Post and Courier, Charleston, SC (used with permission)
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Fire department lawsuits settled for $213,000
By: BO PETERSEN Of The Post and Courier Staff
Originally Published on: 10/10/01
Page: B 3
HD:Fire department lawsuits settled for $213,000
Subheadline: Summerville sued over jurisdiction
KE:FIRE DEPARTMENT; LAWSUIT; SETTLEMENT
SUMMERVILLE-The town will pay $213,000 to settle lawsuits by C&B and Pine Ridge volunteer fire departments over who serves areas annexed into Summerville.
Two other towns were sued. Lincolnville is waiting a judge's ruling after going to trial. Goose Creek is negotiating what the fire departments' attorney called a much smaller payment.
The Summerville settlement lets the town's fire department keep serving the annexed areas. But the volunteer departments keep the right to serve areas annexed in the future, and the town must pay if allowed to take over that service.
Mayor Berlin Myers said he will sign the settlement after a vote tonight at the monthly Town Council meeting. The finance committee, which includes all council members, approved it Tuesday.
The areas in the settlement are 39 mostly commercial properties along Berkeley and Charleston counties' borders with Summerville, including North Main Market stores.
Town Attorney Troy Knight called the settlement expeditious and said the federal law involved denied property a choice of fire protection.
"They are paying what is owed, at a discounted rate," said Trent Kernodle, the attorney for the fire departments.
The lawsuits stemmed from a law that protects fire departments with outstanding federal loans from losing part of their service district, making it more expensive for the remaining district taxpayers to cover the debt.
The lawsuits were filed in 2000 after federal Judge Falcon B. Hawkins ruled that James Island Public Service District can continue to offer fire service to areas annexed into the city of Charleston.
Kernodle called the case law on the issue a lawyer's dream because no court has ruled against a fire department. "The federal statute is a bludgeon of a statute," he said.
The C&B service area covers the territory from Summerville to North Charleston and between Lincolnville and Goose Creek. Pine Ridge covers a few properties on the northern end of Summerville.
In other business tonight, council is expected to approve: Billing for garbage collection in the monthly water bill rather than the yearly property tax bill, to improve cash flow. Residents will pay $6 more on that bill rather than $72 on the tax bill. The town pays Suburban Disposal Service $75,000 per month for the service. Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday closing town offices. The town announced the holiday to employees in July. A local hotel tax but not how to spend its estimated $75,000 per year in revenue.
Not expected is a raise for Police Chief Roy Whitehead, with whom the town was ready to negotiate after he became a finalist for a Statesville, Ga., police chief's job. That job was given to another applicant.
In a half-hour closed session the finance committee discussed salaries "across the board," said Attorney Troy Knight, but deferred any raises until annual evaluations in January.
Bo Petersen covers Summerville, Lincolnville and Dorchester County. Contact him by e-mail at bopete@postandcourier.com or at 843-745-5852.
Reproduced from The
Post and Courier, Charleston, SC (used with permission)
Return to Kernodle, Taylor & Root home page
Return to Press page