May a South Carolina county use fire-service taxes or fees to pay a coordinator who administers contracts and works with contracted fire departments?

Official title

Opinion addressing the use of taxes or fees collected under S.C. Code Section 4-21-10 to pay for a contract administrator and liaison with fire departments operating under contract with the county.

Requester

Requested by Gary Bunker, Chairman, Aiken County Council.

Plain-English summary

Aiken County contracts with eighteen volunteer and municipal fire departments to provide fire protection. Chairman Gary Bunker asked whether the county could use a portion of the special taxes or fees collected under S.C. Code § 4-21-10 to fund a county Fire Coordinator who would administer those contracts and serve as liaison to the departments.

The Attorney General said a court would likely approve that use. Section 4-21-10 requires the proceeds to defray the cost of the service for which they were collected and expressly includes fulfillment of contractual obligations with municipalities and private agencies. It also allows a county to provide the service through county employees, through contracts, or both. Although the proposed coordinator would not directly provide fire suppression, the described duties would support the county's administration of fire protection and its contractual obligations.

The opinion treated the question as one of first impression and relied on the statutory text plus the constitutional and statutory rules that local-government powers are construed liberally in the county's favor. Its conclusion is limited to a position whose duties genuinely support administration of the county's fire-protection services and contracts.

What this means for you

Counties funding contracted fire protection

The opinion supports treating necessary contract administration as part of the cost of providing fire protection. A county may likely allocate a reasonable portion of § 4-21-10 revenue to an employee who manages those contracts and coordinates with the service providers.

Fire coordinators and county administrators

The connection between the position and the funded service matters. The request described duties wholly supporting administration of fire protection; a position with unrelated responsibilities would present a different question.

Taxpayers and fee payers

The revenue remains restricted to the particular service for which it was imposed. The AG's reasoning does not turn fire-service proceeds into general county revenue; it treats administration and contract fulfillment as costs of that same service.

Common questions

Q: Must every dollar go directly to a fire department?
A: No, according to this opinion. Section 4-21-10 includes fulfillment of contracts and permits county employees to help provide the service.

Q: May the county fund an employee who never responds to fires? A: Likely yes if the employee's duties genuinely administer and support the county's fire-protection contracts and services.

Q: Is any administrative position eligible?
A: The opinion does not say that. Its conclusion depends on the proposed coordinator serving as contract administrator and liaison for the fire departments.

Q: Was there controlling South Carolina case law on this exact use? A: No. The AG said it found no state decision or prior opinion directly construing these costs, so it applied ordinary statutory-construction rules.

Citations and references

Constitution and statutes:

• S.C. Code Ann. § 4-21-10 (county provision of fire protection and restricted use of special taxes, fees, or service charges)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 4-9-25 (county powers liberally construed)
• S.C. Const. art. VIII, § 17 (local-government powers liberally construed)

Cases:

• Mitchell v. City of Greenville, 411 S.C. 632, 770 S.E.2d 391 (2015) (legislative intent as the primary rule of statutory construction)
• Hodges v. Rainey, 341 S.C. 79, 533 S.E.2d 578 (2000) (plain statutory text as the best evidence of legislative intent)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/opinion-addressing-the-use-of-taxes-or-fees-collected-under-s-c-code-section-4-21-10-to-pay-for-a-contract-administrator-and-liaison-with-fire-departments-operating-under-contract-with-the-county/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/media/xpcbzehk/03267558.pdf

Original opinion text

Alan Wilson
Attorney General

April 13, 2023
Gary Bunker

Chairman
Aiken County Council

1930 University Parkway
Suite 3 1 00
Aiken, SC 29801

Dear Chairman Bunker:

Attorney General Alan Wilson has referred your letter to the Opinions section. Your letter states the following: S.C. Code Section 4-21-10 provides in relevant part: The governing body of any county may by ordinance or resolution

provide that the county shall provide fire protection services, ambulance services and medical clinic facilities. Services may be provided by use of county employees and equipment or by contract with municipalities or private agencies.

A special tax, fee or service charge may be levied against property

or occupants thereof in areas receiving such services. Proceeds of such taxes, fees or service charges shall be used to defray the cost of providing the particular service for which they are levied, including the fulfillment of contract obligations with municipalities and private agencies. (Emphasis supplied herein). Aiken County contracts with eighteen (18) volunteer fire departments and municipal fire departments located within the County to provide fire protection services. Fees collected pursuant to 4-21-10 are paid to the various fire departments for the provision of this service. Regarding the above underlined portion of 4-21-10, Aiken County respectfully requests your opinion on whether a portion [e.g., two (2) percent] of

the fire fees collected could be used to fund a “Fire Coordinator” position within REKibERrC. Dennis Building

.

Post cthce Box i 1 549

„ Columbia, SC 292 1 1-1549

Telephone ;-m?.-734-3970

.

Tunenle

Mr. Gary Bunker
Page 2

April 13,2023

the government of Aiken County to serve as contract administrator and liaison with

the eighteen fire departments. The Fire Coordinator’s duties would be wholly in support of Aiken County in the administration of the provision of fire protection services. Law/Analysis

It is this Office’s opinion a court would likely hold S.C. Code § 4-21-10 authorizes a county to use a portion of the taxes or fees collected thereunder to fund a contract administrator whose duties include serving as a liaison with volunteer fire departments and municipal fire departments located within the county’s boundaries. This Office was unable to locate decisions from our state courts or prior opinions that address how to construe the costs of providing fire protection services and fulfilling contract obligations in section 4-21-10. As a matter of first impression, we turn to the rules of statutory construction. The primary rule of statutory construction “is to ascertain and effectuate the legislative intent whenever possible.” Mitchell v. City of Greenville, 411 S.C. 632, 634, 770 S.E.2d 391, 392 (2015). Where a statute’s language is plain and unambiguous, “the text

of a statute is considered the best evidence of the legislative intent or will.” Hodges v. Rainey, 341 S.C. 79, 85, 533 S.E.2d 578, 581 (2000). Section 4-21-10 states the taxes or fees collected for fire protection services “shall be used to defray the cost of providing the particular service.” The statute explicitly includes the “fulfillment of contract obligations” within the cost of providing services. Section 4-21-10 also states, “Services may be provided by use of county employees and equipment or by contract with municipalities or private entities.” Id. The question then becomes whether the Fire Coordinator position, as described, can reasonably be said to facilitate fulfilling contract obligations, or more

broadly defray the cost of providing fire protection services. Your letter states the Fire Coordinator will “serve as contract administrator and liaison with the eighteen fire departments” and its duties will be supportive of the county’s administration of fire protection services. It is certainly arguable that while the employee would not directly provide fire protection, the role of acting as an administrator and liaison for those departments is at least supportive of those efforts. By creating

the Fire Coordinator position within the county government, the county would provide fire protection services through a county employee and also by contracting for services with those departments. Given that the South Carolina Constitution requires all laws concerning local governments be “liberally construed in their favor” including those “powers . . . fairly implied and not prohibited by this Constitution,” a court would likely conclude that it is permissible for a

county to use the funds collected under section 4-21-10 to administer contracts for fire protection services. S.C. Const, art. VIII, § 17; see also S.C. Code § 4-9-25 (“The powers of a county must be liberally construed in favor of the county and the specific mention of particular powers may not be construed as limiting in any manner the general powers of counties.”). Conclusion

It is this Office’s opinion a court would likely hold S.C. Code § 4-2 1-10 authorizes a county to use a portion of the taxes or fees collected thereunder to fund a contract administrator whose

Mr. Gary Bunker
Page 3
April 13,2023

duties include serving as a liaison with volunteer fire departments and municipal fire departments

located within the county’s boundaries.
Sincerely,

Matthew Houck
Assistant Attorney General
REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

Robert D. Cook
Solicitor General