MORGANTOWN — The Monongalia County Commission has more than $500,000 from the state waiting to be distributed to fire departments in the county.
On Wednesday, it approved a method for doing so.
Long story short, all 12 county volunteer departments — with one caveat — and the Morgantown Fire Department will receive an initial allocation of $40,366.04.
Two bills passed during the 2023 special session of the West Virginia Legislature created two pots of $3 million to be distributed annually.
The first, the All-County Fire Protection Fund, is divided among the counties by population. Monongalia County received $180,607.79 through that fund in 2023 and $182,565.56 in 2024.
The second, the County Fire Protection Fund, is divided among counties that have countywide fire levies or countywide fire fees in place. It’s meant to be an incentive to get counties proactive in supporting fire protection. Monongalia County has a fire excess levy and received $209,749.13 through this fund in 2023. It has yet to receive the 2024 disbursement.
The distribution method for these funds recommended to the commission by the Monongalia County Volunteer Fire Companies Association was an even split between the 12 volunteer departments.
That’s what the commission put in place, with a couple changes.
One, it pulled back 10% of the allocations received in 2023 and will hold 5% of all allocations in 2024 and beyond to create a contingency fund for emergency requests from departments working through the volunteer fire association.
Two, at the city’s request, it added the Morgantown Fire Department to the list of agencies receiving support.
While the purpose of the legislation creating these funding sources may have been to help support the state’s 420-some volunteer departments, that specification was not included in the final language.
“The legislation is perfectly clear that it was for fire protection services. It didn’t specify volunteer fire departments,” Commission President Sean Sikora said.
Morgantown residents have paid into the county’s excess fire levy since its initial passage in 2016 in addition to the fire fees they pay to support the Morgantown Fire Department. Even so, the MFD has not been included in the distribution of levy funds. That changed with the May 2024 renewal of the levy when the volunteer fire association agreed to include the city department, meaning the MFD will receive a full share of levy dollars starting in July 2025.
“The legislation doesn’t single anyone out,” Sikora said. “City residents pay the fire levy, so, I think that’s why it should be available. It’s state dollars coming in for fire protection. Why wouldn’t that include the city?”
Further, the commission said subrecipient agreements will need to be finalized passing down all the state’s transparency and regulatory requirements to the 13 departments.
“When you deal with the state and federal, there are strings attached. What we’re making sure is, we are mandated by the state to be accountable for the funds. So, we’re making sure they’re going to be accountable,” Commissioner Tom Bloom said. “That is a requirement. That is why we have to do it that way.”
The Star City Volunteer Fire Department will receive an initial allocation of $21,366.04 after taking a $19,000 advance on its portion to replace a vehicle engine.
In other news from Wednesday’s meeting, Comcast awarded $15,000 grants to two nonprofits through its Project UP initiative, “a $1 billion commitment to advance digital equity through programs and community partnerships that connect people to the Internet, advance economic mobility and open doors for the next generation.”
The Morgantown Area Partnership will use the funds to maintain and expand a resume bank and host resume writing classes and digital equity training.
West Virginia Women Work will focus the grant dollars on professional, career and workplace development opportunities for women entering the skilled trades.
TWEET @DominionPostWV
