GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) -- Sumner County volunteer fire departments could soon receive more funding. 

The county commission will vote Monday night on whether or not to put a fire tax on the ballot for next year. 

If it were to pass and be voted through by residents, the tax would only impact residents in the unincorporated areas of Sumner County, who rely on volunteer fire departments. 

The debate around funding volunteer departments has been happening in Sumner County for years. One department told News 2 that a tax may be the only way to finally end this funding struggle.

“Nobody wants to pay more taxes, I certainly don’t. But having a small tax for every person here in Sumner County to go to their local volunteer agencies would go a long way,” said Lt. Jason Ditzler with the Gallatin Volunteer Fire Department. 

Ditzler has been with GVFD for nearly a decade and a volunteer firefighter for close to 30 years. He knows the profession and he sees there’s a discrepancy in how Sumner County funds their volunteer fire agencies. 

“I was in one of the best-funded departments in Kentucky, came down here, and we are in one of the least-funded counties in Tennessee,” said Ditzler. “A fire tax would be awesome. I think it would be a great idea to have something where each department would get better funding from the county.”

The finances of Gallatin’s Volunteer Fire Department have already been tested to their limits in 2025. Engine repairs and damages to their facility racked up their costs, putting an even greater emphasis on community donations.

The problem is: those donations aren’t that common, according to Ditzler and other county officials. 

“The only way that we’re going to get funding is if somebody either a. gives money, or b. the county takes money and gives it to us. That’s one reason we’re doing (a) big fundraiser in October, and that’s one reason we’re pushing fundraising as hard as we are,” Ditzler said. 

Some county commissioners, like Jeremy Mansfield, believe a fire tax would create a “substantial burden” on taxpayers and would destroy how their volunteer fire departments operate.

Mansfield told News 2 he's in favor of a subscription-model for fire services, or for the county to increase their yearly-funding for each department to roughly $90,000 across the board. 

Gallatin Fire already does a subscription-drive every year, but it only brings in a few thousand dollars, according to Ditzler. 

“It barely keeps the equipment we have on the road,” he told New 2.  

News 2 also spoke with an ex-volunteer fireman for White House, Curtis Willians, whose family has deep roots in Sumner County's volunteer services.

Williams said he is not in favor of tax, believing it would eventually become a future burden on residents. 

He said the solution is one that a majority of Tennessee counties already deploy: an annual non-profit donation from the county to each department to cover their yearly or quarterly costs with no liability.  

The current push for a county tax, Williams believes, is a “political maneuver." Like Ditzler, Williams also stressed how Sumner County is near the bottom in funding for volunteer fire departments across the state. 

Sumner County’s Commission will meet to discuss the fire tax on Monday night, starting at 7 p.m. in Gallatin. 

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/funding-wanted-sumner-county-to-explore-fire-tax-for-volunteer-fire-departments/