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$75 or we'll let your house burn down

#41
i_got_a_mohawk said:
I agree that this is what should have happened.

Tho I'm guessing that it's written into contracts somewhere along the line that the firemen are only covered for certain properties and they could have lost their jobs or been fined for breach of contract (or something), had they gone into this fire.
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+1

I think a $75 fire service fee is a bad idea. It would make more sense to cover the budget with maybe a penny added to sales tax, a small property tax increase, or someother way to spread it out. For people on fixed incomes, or who are just poor, an extra $75 may be very hard to come by.
 
#42
superbassman2000 said:
However,

if it's on fire, they should put it out--it could have gotten out of control. Things can happen. They should have put it out but then charged them double for the work, similar to the way insurance plays out--you could risk never having to use it, but if you do, you won't pay as much as you would have.
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If this was in California or Arizona, where it's usually pretty dry, don't you think they would've been a little more proactive about it? Not only would this fire destroy the house and others around it, it could destroy multimillion dollar mansions of people who paid the fee.
 
#44
sloasdaylight said:
If you can afford a trailer on your property with enough things in it to live in, you can afford $75 a year for fire service.
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.... I think you're missing the grander point I was trying to make. That sometimes, when people have the ability to help those who can't help themselves, they should. Even if the person can't afford (or was too stupid to pay) their 75 freakin dollars.

i_got_a_mohawk said:
If that was local policy and he knew it . . .
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So if there's a policy that unless I tattoo "Resident of Hagerstown, MD" across my forehead I get my hand cut off and I refuse to get the tattoo and my hand gets cut off... Oh well. I knew the policy.

Hello, local policies can be wrong. County commissioners can vote stupidly and create bad situations.

Forget it... :rollno:
 
#45
capnsandwich said:
My question is this: Why is a policy like that in place in the first place? If they needed the cops to come out and investigate a burglary or a murder, would they not come out because of a policy? No way. They'd be out there trying to take someone to jail.

Here in Ohio, you have city/town fire departments, township fire departments, and even county fire departments. There are 2 FD within a mile of each other here in my little town of Sunbury. One is for Sunbury, the other is for the rest of Delaware County that's not within the town limits. There are also other county FD's within the county.
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That I don't know, but you have to live by the laws of the land. If you disagree with something like this, you should be more proactive than just not paying for it.
 
#47
ericw said:
So if there's a policy that unless I tattoo "Resident of Hagerstown, MD" across my forehead I get my hand cut off and I refuse to get the tattoo and my hand gets cut off... Oh well. I knew the policy.

Hello, local policies can be wrong. County commissioners can vote stupidly and create bad situations.

Forget it... :rollno:
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Which is why I'm saying if you disagree with it, do something more than just say "im not paying it".

I'm not saying these things are infallible, but the simple fact of the matter is, had he paid, he wouldn't be in this situation. If he disagreed with the policy, why didn't he do something about it?
 
#49
ericw said:
No you dont... ANARCHY IN OBION COUNTY!!!! BURN THE LAND!!! NO ONE WILL PUT THE FIRES OUT ANYWAY!!


EDIT: (not actually suggesting that people in obion county burn it down)
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If you pay the service fee or live in South Fulton where their taxes go to a fire department some one will.

When you live way out in the country there are things that you don't get that people in the city have come to think is a right or something like that. My parents don't have a trash service at their house, in fact no one in their neighborhood does. No one has the Internet either, and it takes the police/firedepartment 20-30 minutes to get to where they live. There are trade offs for everything.
 
#50
ericw said:
.... I think you're missing the grander point I was trying to make. That sometimes, when people have the ability to help those who can't help themselves, they should. Even if the person can't afford (or was too stupid to pay) their 75 freakin dollars.
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Amen.

Dr. Cheese said:
That's the price people pay for being so anti tax. No one likes taxes, but there's no way around them if you want society to work.
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Amen (part 2).
 
#51
We have the same thing in my hometown. They won't ever increase taxes, but they will charge you $125 a year for a "volunteer" fire department. And that's after I pay taxes for fire and police services because I live in the city limits. So I get charged twice every year for Fire protection. I bring it up all the time at town meetings/commission votes, but no one ever sees things my way.

To me its sickening that they didn't respond, but they can't be held in jeopardy for it. The family didn't pay the fee, and they didn't get the service. Its a terrible policy, but the man knew about the policy.
 
#53
All in all, this situation occurred because the local powers that be were in charge rather than actual people with hearts, feelings, and mothers. What if, by way of rebellion and protest, no one in the county paid the $75 fee? What would the local fire department do then?
 
#56
So, the fire dept offers a service, the guy "forgot" to pay it for 18 freaking years, then people complain when he's denied said service.
How many time can you forget to pay the phone, electricity, bank, loan, insurance company, before the service is denied?

Either you agree to have a public service funded by taxes, or people pay for whatever service they choose. USA tend to favor the 2nd formula.
Why would it be different here?
 
#58
Jazz Ad said:
So, the fire dept offers a service, the guy "forgot" to pay it for 18 freaking years, then people complain when he's denied said service.
How many time can you forget to pay the phone, electricity, bank, loan, insurance company, before the service is denied?
Why is it different here?
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In all honesty: probably the city-dweller/suburbanite's sense of entitlement to emergency services.

Then again, they don't turn you away at the emergency room, even if you can't pay.
 

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