The Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors is weighing its options as it considers adding a $5 fee to vehicle registrations to support the county’s volunteer fire departments and emergency management agency.

In a work session Thursday, Lauderdale County Emergency Management Director Odie Barrett said the fee would bring in about $300,000 each year to put toward firefighting equipment and other needs. The new equipment would help the county maintain and improve its fire rating, which, in turn, would save residents money on their homeowner insurance.

“I don’t think $5 is a lot as opposed to your insurance going up,” Supervisor Josh Todd said.

One piece of equipment the county is needing to replace is its fleet of aging tanker trucks, Barrett said. Unlike pump engines, which have a lifespan of 15 years and are rigorously tested, tankers can stay in operation as long as they’re maintained, he said.

Lauderdale County has tanker trucks, Barrett said. The issue is finding people who know how to drive them.

“Ninety percent of our tankers are stick shift,” he said. “When you bring in new people to come in and help, they’ll look at that truck and say, ‘I can’t drive that.’”

Throughout the country, the number of people volunteering with their local fire department has declined significantly, and Lauderdale County is no exception. Older volunteers, who are familiar with a standard transmission, aren’t able to respond as often as they used to, and younger volunteers are mystified by the foreign setup.

While the county’s much newer pumper trucks are automatic, Barrett said they don’t do a lot of good if there isn’t any water to pour onto a fire. Having tankers up and operating is critical for both a good fire rating and effective fire fighting.

“You can have as many engines out there as you can get, but if you don’t have any water on scene, your engine is not doing any good,” he said. “We go through a lot of water on these things.”

Supervisors agreed the $5 fee was much preferable over increased insurance costs, but said some due diligence needs to be done before action can be taken. The county first needs to make sure it has the authority to institute the fee and get an idea on how to go about it.

Todd said the board can also consider potentially earmarking the funds for specific uses as the fee may be more palatable to county residents if they know what the money is being spent on. Once the board has a better idea of what needs to be done and what the impact will be on county residents, it can decide whether or not to move forward.

The Board of Supervisors also discussed funds for the county’s volunteer fire departments earmarked by the Legislature in an appropriations bill earlier this year. The county is set to receive $360,000 for its 18 volunteer fire departments, or $20,000 per department.

County Administrator Chris Lafferty said the county will act as a pass through for the funds, meaning the state will send the county the money, which will turn around and distribute it among the fire departments.

One potential issue, he said, is Marion Volunteer Fire Department. While it is included among the county’s volunteer fire departments, Marion is its own municipality, and the county does not provide funds or support for MVFD like it does the other departments.

Thaggard said he was not too familiar with the appropriations bill, HB603, and would need to review it and the county’s existing agreements with its volunteer fire departments before advising the board on how to move forward.