Oak Ridge Today

Clinton Council OKs budget, 15.5-cent tax increase

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Clinton City Hall

Information from WYSH Radio

Note: This story was updated at 10:52 a.m. May 20.

The Clinton City Council voted on Monday to approve its budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1 on first reading, and it includes a 15.5-cent property tax increase.

Last week, WYSH reported that a three- or four-cent tax increase would be necessary to pay for an increase in insurance costs and to pay for the salaries and benefits of four full-time firefighters. The costs associated with those firefighters were paid for by a FEMA grant for the past two years, but they became the responsibility of the city this year.

Following a late-week budget workshop, another seven cents was added to the proposed tax increase to pay for the city taking over all of the costs associated with school resource officers at the city’s three schools ($62,000), hiring a codes enforcement/police officer ($50,000), and to set aside $100,000 to start a street-paving fund aimed at preventing the city from having to borrow money for street improvement projects in the future. [Read more…]

Lower fire classification in Clinton could lower home owners’ insurance premiums

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A lower community classification for Clinton and its fire department could translate, overall, into reductions in insurance premiums for home owners, a press release said.

The Insurance Services Office Inc., or ISO, notified the city and the Clinton Fire Department of the new community classification, which is 02/2X. That’s lower than the previous classification of 4, the press release said.

The new classification follows a recent analysis of the structural fire suppression delivery system for the City of Clinton. [Read more…]

With new ISO rating, ORFD among top in nation

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Darryl Kerley

ORFD Chief Darryl Kerley

Improvement could lower commercial rates in particular, help recruitment

The Oak Ridge Fire Department has been notified by the Insurance Service Office that the fire protection rating for the department will be improving to a Class 2, a press release said.

ISO has been evaluating and assigning fire protection ratings to fire departments since 1971. Insurance companies use the fire protection ratings to determine home owners and business insurance premiums. ISO evaluates fire department equipment, station locations, training, fire prevention efforts, and many other factors to assign a protection rating.

The ORFD has held a Class 3 rating for nearly 15 years but will now be a Class 2 department effective June 1, 2014. According to information from ISO, of the 47,250 fire departments across the country, less than 650 obtain a rating of Class 2 rating or better. [Read more…]