The Sumner County Commission on Nov. 3 voted to form an ad hoc committee to study long-term funding and organization of the county's volunteer fire departments, approving a committee made up of three commissioners, two fire chiefs and three citizen members.

The committee composition proposed by Chairman Becker and approved by voice vote includes Commissioner Wynne, Commissioner Ben Harris and Commissioner Klein as the three commissioners; Chief Sam Thornton (Portland) and Chief Scottie Bush (Hendersonville) as the two fire chiefs; and citizens Curtis Williams, Henry Gerdau and Chris Shoemaker. The motion to create the committee was seconded by Commissioner Wright and approved by voice vote; the chair said he will contact members and schedule the first meeting based on their availability.

Why it matters: Commissioners and public commenters framed the committee as the vehicle to develop options for a sustainable funding model for volunteer fire services, including whether to pursue a countywide fire tax or other district-based approaches. Curtis Williams, a citizen who identified himself during public comment as a long-time local advocate, urged the commission to ensure representation from city fire chiefs so any future tax or funding plan could coordinate city and county actions. "I would really like to see the ad hoc committee come back with some options," Williams said, adding that having a city chief involved would help coordinate if cities choose to add their own fire taxes inside municipal limits.

Commissioners did not adopt a specific funding proposal at the meeting. The chair's outline and the public comments made clear several issues the committee is expected to address: whether a countywide fire tax is feasible, how to structure funding across distinct fire districts, and how to ensure rural and growing suburban areas receive comparable service levels. Curtis Williams told commissioners that multiple approaches should be studied, including maintaining current funding rates or asking individual fire districts to pass their own levies to create full-time departments where needed.

The meeting record shows community interest in both technical and representative aspects of any future plan. Chair Becker stated he reached out to the proposed members and would send availability requests; commissioners indicated no opposition to expanding the committee to include three commissioners, two chiefs and three citizens. The commission took no final action on funding changes and gave the ad hoc committee a directive to return options and recommendations to the commission for consideration.

Action taken: creation of the ad hoc volunteer fire department committee with the membership listed above; chair to schedule initial meeting and solicit availability from named members.

Provenance: The ad hoc committee was introduced as old business and discussed beginning at the attached meeting materials and the transcript block beginning at 00:06:06; the motion to approve the committee makeup and the voice vote approving it are recorded beginning at 00:09:14.

Ending: The committee will meet at dates to be determined by the chair; the commission did not set a deadline for the committee's report and did not adopt any funding measures at the Nov. 3 meeting.