PARKSLEY, Va. - People showed up in bright green shirts with "NO CHINCO FIRE TAX" on the front during a public input session held Tuesday night regarding the Accomack County budget.
The fire tax would cause a flat tax to be levied on all the fire companies of Accomack County. Wanda Thornton, member of the Accomack County Board of Supervisors, said, "In essence our $340,000 will fund three fire companies...at $104,000 each and have some left over. I mean if that seems fair to anyone I wish they would tell me how."
Thornton said smaller fire companies that support smaller populations will get more money than they need.
Thornton is perhaps the only member of the board who opposes the tax.
"I think we've got to start thinking of the county as a whole and not just out district or our area," says Grayson Chesson of the Board of Supervisors.
Chincoteague residents, as well as members of the Chincoteague Volunteer Firefighter Company, feel strongly that they do not need the tax. Denise Bowden, member of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, said, "Personally...I'm not going to give up fighting until every avenue has been exhausted. [I'm] not speaking on behalf of the town government, but I feel like they will run the same course. We won't give up until everything's been exhausted."
The budget containing the ordinance for the fire tax will be voted on by the board on April 4
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