By Rob Ginter - Staff Writer
The Kentucky Division of Forestry paid Rowan among other counties with a reimbursement of fire suppression fees.
A check for $682.82 was delivered to Judge-executive Jim Nickell last week to repay the county for money it spent on fire suppression on state forestry land.
“The counties are entitled to the money if they pay the timberland tax to the state and Rowan County always does,” District Forrester for North Eastern District Chuck Wilburn said. “When a land owner pays property tax he or she pays some of that tax to the county if they have timber.”
The KDF, the state agency responsible for suppressing wildfires and enforcing forest fire laws on state and private lands, collects costs associated with firefighting from individuals who are responsible for starting fires by accident or by their negligence. The recovered costs are deposited into a special fund in the Energy and Environment Cabinet where they may be returned to the county in which the suppression costs were incurred.
“Our district collected more fire fighting fees than any other district in the state and were able to refund more than $8,000,” Wilburn said.
That district includes Bath, Boyd, Carter, Clark, Elliot, Fleming, Greenup, Lewis, Mason, Montgomery, Menifee, Morgan, Nicholas, Rowan and Robertson.
“In these economic times the counties were appreciative to get a refund whether it was hundreds or thousands of dollars,” Winburn said.
Rowan was among 62 counties statewide to receive a chunk of the more than $33,000 paid this year from the collection of wildfire suppression fees as required by state law.
