Lenoir County reviewing fire district funding discrepancies
For more than a decade, sales tax dollars intended to support Lenoir County’s volunteer fire departments were miscalculated. The mistake is confirmed. The scope of the error is not.
Was it five dollars? Fifty thousand? Five million? At this point, county officials and fire chiefs agree: no one knows.
The issue surfaced during public hearings this spring, when fire tax rates across the county were under debate. As county staff presented revenue projections for Fiscal Year 2026, several fire chiefs pointed out that the numbers were higher than what their districts had historically received. The questions prompted County Manager Michael James and his staff to dig into how sales tax proceeds were being distributed.
“It was determined that an incorrect formula resulted in the under-distribution of funds to certain districts over multiple fiscal years,” James said. “While the mistake was unintentional, we recognize it should have been identified sooner.”
James did not provide an actual number for each department.
“I am hesitant to provide a number until we finalize our review with the Fire Chiefs. The County and the Departments are still pulling old transactional data, so to avoid confusion, I would wait until we have complete clarity.”
The Lenoir County Firefighter’s Association, speaking for all 12 departments, confirmed the finding in a letter to Neuse News, which can be found below.
“The review confirmed that underpayments had occurred due to an internal processing error on the County’s part, and County leadership immediately began working with Volunteer Fire Department leadership to dig deeper into this issue and correct it,” the chiefs wrote.
Together, the County and fire departments are now combing through records as far back as 2010 to identify what was supposed to be distributed and what actually was. Both sides say the results will be presented to the Board of Commissioners for approval once complete.
“Once final figures are reviewed and validated in collaboration with Volunteer Fire Department leadership, the County will present a detailed breakdown by district to the Board of Commissioners for final approval,” said James. “Addressing this issue will help ensure a more accurate and sustainable funding model for these essential services.”
For residents, the unanswered question is how much money was misdirected during those years — especially as commissioners approved multiple fire tax rate changes during that same period. While fire chiefs stressed that emergency services were never compromised, they acknowledged the discrepancy created financial planning challenges.
“This process demonstrates how effectively the Volunteer Fire Departments and the County can work together to resolve an issue in the best interest of the taxpayers and communities we serve,” the chiefs wrote.
For now, one fact remains: the amount of money in question is still unknown.
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