Residents of Flowers Plantation may have received a notice in the mail from the Johnston County Board of Commissioners regarding the consolidation of the Archer Lodge and Thanksgiving Fire Districts. A public hearing is scheduled for Monday, May 17th at 6pm in the Old Superior Courtroom (Courtroom No. 4) located in the Johnston County Courthouse in order to hear the views of the residents of Johnston County on this proposal.
Paul Zias, the current Fire Chief of Thanksgiving Fire Department, explains why he believes this is a positive move that will benefit the community. “With us combining into the North Side Fire & Rescue, we will have a staffed truck 24/7/365 with a response time of 90 seconds or less. We will also have an immediate response from 2 other trucks coming out of the Archer Lodge Station. Service to the customers will be greatly improved, response times will be greatly reduced, and total certified firefighters will be increased.”
Fire Chief Zais also addressed the question that will be on a lot of people’s minds…Will my taxes go up??? The answer is NO. The current tax rate for the fire district is .09 cents and will stay the same. He also mentioned that all volunteers with their department will remain on board, and will be able to set schedules that are more flexible to accommodate their daily lives.