By Joel Griffith
On September 29, 2010 Gene Cranick's grandson decided to start a trash fire outside his grandpa's house. The fire soon grew out of control, spreading to Gene's home. Frantically Gene dialed 911. Shortly thereafter, a fire engine arrived. Yet, to his chagrin, the department refused to extinguish the flames because Gene had not paid $75 in advance to warrant such services. The fire department squad remained just off his property, watching the flames completely consume Gene's house.
Following this incident, pundits criticized the department for its refusal to act over a mere $75. Emotions were high, accusations ran wild, and judgments were instantly made. We all agree that such an horrific loss so easily avoidable is a tragedy. Yet, in our rush to assign blame, we have neglected a thoughtful analysis of the situation.
Rather than enact a property tax pay the costs of a county fire department, the residents of Obion County purchase such protection individually from the city of South Fulton. If a particular resident in a rural location chooses to forgo protection, the impact on surrounding neighbors is minimal. Obviously, such a choice cannot be rationally permitted in an urban setting as one person's refusal to subscribe to such a service may have dire consequences on a neighbor!
By choosing to simply pay for such fire services from ANOTHER government entity, the residents of Obion County and South Fulton save money! Like any other organization, maintaining a fire department requires a significant amount of overhead costs. Through economies of scale, the cost to each end-user of a this service is reduced. The citizens of South Fulton benefit from this agreement as part of its fire department is funded by the citizens of Obion County. The citizens of Obion County benefit by paying less money yearly than they would if they had to maintain their own fire department.
What would happen if the city of South Fulton decided to make an exception and extend its services to someone who had not paid the fees? The immediate result would possibly be a rescued home. However, many other homeowners would possibly decide not to renew their $75 agreements with the city the following year. Why pay the fee if their house will be saved anyway in the event of an emergency?
If more county residents refused to pay the yearly protection fees, South Fulton could either (1) decide to halt service to Obion County or (2) subsidize the county costs with higher fees to city residents. If South Fulton choose to halt service, Obion County could either (1) institute it's own fire department at a cost to each homeowner significantly higher than the $75 yearly fee or (2) simply do without fire protection.
Each option negatively affects the general populaces of South Fulton and greater Obion County. Why should the residents of the city of South Fulton be forced to extend services paid for with their tax dollars to those of another locale? Why should responsible homeowners be forced to subsidize the negligence of a neighbor? Why should the citizens of Obion County be forced to fund their own fire department through unnecessary property taxes? Why should an entire county be forced to do without fire protection due to unnecessarily high costs?
All of these negative outcomes are avoided by respecting the decisions of the citizens of Obion County and the city of South Fulton. They have clearly spoken.
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