VALDOSTA — The Lowndes County Commission voted Tuesday evening to hire more full-time paid firefighters for county fire services.

County commissioners also named three appointees to replace the previously elected tax assessors board.

Lowndes County Fire Rescue depends largely on volunteer fire units scattered around the county, though there are a dozen full-time firefighters at Station 10, the headquarters site on U.S. 84, County Manager Paige Dukes said.

The commission approved a plan to add three more full-time positions.

“Adding three more (full-time) firefighters to Station 10 means they can add an extra man to each shift,” Dukes said, “making it possible for them to roll out two trucks to structure fires instead of just one.”

She said adding more full-time spots in no way lessens the department’s need for volunteers.

The annual cost of the three extra positions comes to $170,767.42; the cost for the nine months left in this fiscal year would be $128,075.58, according to county documents.

“There will be no increase in taxes to citizens as a result of adding three full-time paid firefighters,” Dukes said. “As a result of the Service Delivery Strategy Agreement between Lowndes County and the cities, fire services in unincorporated Lowndes County are not funded via property taxes. Fire services are funded through Lowndes County’s Special Services Fund. 

“The Special Services Fund provides funding for services that are provided by Lowndes County to residents in the unincorporated area or ‘outside city limits.’ Special services revenues are comprised of various fees and taxes other than property taxes. … It is not a fund balance that can be increased in the same manner property taxes can be increased by adjusting the millage rate.”

Lowndes County Fire Rescue took on its first two full-time paid firefighters in 2005.

In other matters, the commission:

– Named three people to the Lowndes County tax assessors board — Felecia Williams to a five-year term, Gretchen Quarterman to a four-year term and James Puckett to a three-year term.

Previously, all members of the tax assessors board had been elected, unlike the rest of the state where assessors were appointed by county commissioners. In 2016, Lowndes County voters narrowly approved a measure to move to the county-appointed system starting this year.

The assessors will take their positions Jan. 1, and all future appointments will be for three-year terms.

– Approved a request for a grant submission to help the Board of Elections cover costs, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recruiting and hiring poll workers, voter education, expansion of drive-through voting and procuring protective gear were among the priorities mentioned. No matching funds are required.

– Approved the acceptance of infrastructure for the Val Del Villas subdivision, located near Sermons Lane.

– Approved the replacement of an aging pump at the Foxborough lift station for $41,217.60.

– Approved drainage improvements to Brinson Lane and Oak Hill Drive in order to eliminate flooding issues as a result of the paving of Oak Hill Drive.

– Approved a bid by the Scruggs Company for the grading, drainage, base and paving of Clyattstone Road and Simpson Lane.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.