Burn baby, burn?

Today's editorial notes that the next big Horry County fire could be much harder to control:

When things are going well, we tend to become oblivious to the connection to the taxes we pay and the public services we get in return. Last week, however, this connection became startlingly clear with the horrendous wildfires that vaporized about 70 homes and blackened nearly 20,000 acres between the waterway and S.C. 90 - a fire that remains a threat today. Were it not for the timely help of S.C. Forestry Commission firefighters and their equipment, and firefighters and equipment from other S.C. and N.C. venues, the damage well might have been worse.

But if a similar fire were to break out a year from now - heaven forbid - local folks may be unable to take on faith that an equally magnificent response would occur. Last week, as thick smoke and embers drifted over our communities, state lawmakers prepared to further slash the Forestry Commission's firefighting capacity while proposing to strip local governments of a vital supplement to their public-safety budgets.

As The (Columbia) State reported last week, the commission had 253 firefighters as recently as 1989. Today, it has 189 firefighters and far less tractor plows and other firefighting equipment than 20 years ago. Current-year cuts have reduced its budget from $18 million to $14 million.

The agency is fighting to hold the line at $14 million while delaying the replacement of worn-out equipment. And the budget cuts thus far could force as many as 30 percent of its firefighters into early retirement.

The chief House budget writer, Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dan Cooper, R-Anderson, says chances are poor that the legislature will infuse more money into the commission. "I don't know how often we have a fire that warrants this kind of attention," he said.

In other words, it might be better to let mega-fires of the sort we endured this week burn through a few more houses than to ensure that the state employs enough firefighters to handle worst-case fire scenarios.

Cooper added local fire departments should step up to help the Forestry Commission. But the House has already voted to slash $50 million in transfer payments to local governments and Senate budget writers followed suit last week. If this foolish decision holds up, it's hard to imagine how our local fire departments, in some future mega-fire, could step up to supplement the efforts of the commission's firefighters.

The Senate plans to spend the $50 million to repair the damage done by Gov. Mark Sanford's refusal to accept $700 million in federal stimulus money. The "savings" from money ordinarily sent local government would bolster state education, health care and prison budgets.

But the loss to local governments would - you guessed it - diminish their ability to sustain current police and firefighting efforts without raising taxes. Only if we're willing to raise property taxes locally to compensate for the state's impending pullback could they come up with enough money to sustain the current level of fire protection. The money to accomplish that has to come from somewhere. Firefighting isn't free.

The question before us here at home, therefore: Would we local taxpayers stand still for local tax increases? Or would we roast local council members who voted to raise taxes on a spit (figuratively speaking) while chanting: Burn baby burn?

Comments?

But if a similar fire were to break out a year from now - heaven forbid - local folks may be unable to take on faith that an equally magnificent response would occur. Last week, as thick smoke and embers drifted over our communities, state lawmakers prepared to further slash the Forestry Commission's firefighting capacity while proposing to strip local governments of a vital supplement to their public-safety budgets.

As The (Columbia) State reported last week, the commission had 253 firefighters as recently as 1989. Today, it has 189 firefighters and far less tractor plows and other firefighting equipment than 20 years ago. Current-year cuts have reduced its budget from $18 million to $14 million.

The agency is fighting to hold the line at $14 million while delaying the replacement of worn-out equipment. And the budget cuts thus far could force as many as 30 percent of its firefighters into early retirement.

The chief House budget writer, Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dan Cooper, R-Anderson, says chances are poor that the legislature will infuse more money into the commission. "I don't know how often we have a fire that warrants this kind of attention," he said.

In other words, it might be better to let mega-fires of the sort we endured this week burn through a few more houses than to ensure that the state employs enough firefighters to handle worst-case fire scenarios.

Cooper added local fire departments should step up to help the Forestry Commission. But the House has already voted to slash $50 million in transfer payments to local governments and Senate budget writers followed suit last week. If this foolish decision holds up, it's hard to imagine how our local fire departments, in some future mega-fire, could step up to supplement the efforts of the commission's firefighters.

The Senate plans to spend the $50 million to repair the damage done by Gov. Mark Sanford's refusal to accept $700 million in federal stimulus money. The "savings" from money ordinarily sent local government would bolster state education, health care and prison budgets.

But the loss to local governments would - you guessed it - diminish their ability to sustain current police and firefighting efforts without raising taxes. Only if we're willing to raise property taxes locally to compensate for the state's impending pullback could they come up with enough money to sustain the current level of fire protection. The money to accomplish that has to come from somewhere. Firefighting isn't free.

The question before us here at home, therefore: Would we local taxpayers stand still for local tax increases? Or would we roast local council members who voted to raise taxes on a spit (figuratively speaking) while chanting: Burn baby burn?

Comments?