Kristie Johnson Becomes First Female Officer of DeKalb County Fire Department

March 25, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department has its first ever female officer.

During Monday night’s regular monthly county commission meeting, County Fire Chief Donny Green announced that Kristie Johnson has been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.

“After meeting stringent leadership testing and training requirements, Kristie Johnson was promoted to Lieutenant on March 11. During officer testing Kristie successfully passed all phases of written testing and practical skills testing. She has served with the department since 2011 and has served as a station commander and safety officer. We are proud to have Kristie as a member of our leadership team. She is the first ever female officer of the DeKalb County Fire Department since it began in 1975,” said Chief Green.

Other members of the fire department’s leadership team in addition to Chief Green and Lieutenant Johnson are Assistant Chief Anthony Boyd, Captains Jay Cantrell, Brian Williams and Michael Lawrence, and Lieutenant Dusty Johnson (Kristie’s husband) .

March 25, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Are rural counties getting short changed from the state’s distribution of sales tax revenue from out-of-state sellers including internet sales?

Some say the current distribution of a uniform local sales tax rate for out-of-state sellers is not equitable and should be eliminated.

Under current tax laws, if an out-of-state retailer ships goods into the state, it has to pay state sales taxes after $500,000 in sales. That’s the use tax that applies to property imported by a customer for use in Tennessee, including internet sales. That revenue is doled out to the state, which distributes it locally at a percentage based on brick-and-mortar sales.

Representatives of counties and cities on the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations recently formed a working group to study the issue and is recommending that local sales tax revenue from out-of-state sellers be distributed based on the destination of the purchaser.

The TACIR is asking counties to adopt a resolution urging the Tennessee General Assembly to adopt a law making the change. It is also being recommended for passage by the Tennessee County Services Association and the Association of County Mayors.

The county commission Monday night adopted the resolution.

“What is happening right now, if you buy something out of state and it is shipped to your home and there is sales tax involved, the state sales tax portion goes to the state but the local option part of the sales tax goes into a pool and it is distributed according to how much sales tax that county collected for the state of Tennessee. For example, Davidson County collects about 12% of the total sales tax for the state so Davidson County would get 12% of this money from this pool. What the TACIR is saying is the local sales tax should return to the county from where the purchase originated in order to give each county its fair share,” said County Mayor Tim Stribling.

“That would have meant an extra $376,000 for DeKalb County according to 2017 figures. That isn’t chump change. If this resolution is adopted by the state it will mean a significant amount of money for the county,” added fourth district commissioner Dr. Scott Little.

“This equates to about eight cents of the property tax rate,” said County Mayor Stribling.

March 25, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

If you would like to get a first-hand experience of what it’s like to be a county volunteer firefighter then sign up today for the 10^th session of the DeKalb County Fire Department Citizens’ Fire Academy.

The classes begin on April 16 and continue through May 21 meeting once a week on Tuesdays from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Fire Department’s Main Station on King Ridge Road.

The deadline to register is March 31. Space is limited so book your spot today.

(VIDEO BELOW SHOWS CITIZENS’ FIRE ACADEMY PARTICIPANT LORA WEBB USING EXTRICATION EQUIPMENT NORMALLY DEPLOYED TO FREE VICTIMS OF CAR CRASHES)

County Fire Chief Donny Green said the academy is open to anyone age 18 or older who lives or works in DeKalb County.

“The purpose of the academy is to provide a behind-the-scenes look, from a citizens’ perspective, at the organizational structure, administration, operation, and response capabilities of the DeKalb County Fire Department and supporting agencies, such as the 911 Dispatch Center, law enforcement/investigations, emergency medical services, and fire prevention and safety agencies,” said Chief Green.

Participants may observe or actually get some hands-on experience by dressing up in firefighter turnout gear and operating department equipment including the jaws of life extrication tools under the supervision of the county firefighters.

There is no cost to participate and those who do will be provided a light meal at each session. A graduation ceremony will be held on the last night of the course May 21 and a meal will be served. Graduates of the class will also get an official DeKalb County Fire Department Citizens’ Fire Academy t-shirt.

For more information, contact Chief Donny Green at 615-464-7176.

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