THREE STAR VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT, the firefighters, Board of Directors, and the Auxiliary appreciate everyone who supports the department, including property owners and residents, Tipton County government, anyone who attends a fund raiser or who volunteers in many different ways – you all enable us to help those who need us. Our goal is to always be ready – in training, in experience, in equipment – to help the next person in crisis. Thank you for visiting this website and for helping us help you and our community.
1. THREE STAR VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT – FEE SCHEDULE
Your annual subscriptions (“dues”) account for over 50% of our total budget and allow us to provide a high level of volunteer fire and emergency services. The responsibility for these services is spread among all property owners in the district. The fee schedule for each fiscal year beginning July 1 is based on each property’s zoning and structures, as described below. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions/suggestions you may have, or call the station at 901-476-8183, and leave a message there. We will return your call as soon as possible.
The fee schedule, based on Tipton County property and zoning records, has not changed since it was adopted for the fiscal year beginning 07/01/2016. It is as follows:
1. Residential/agricultural/farm property with a home (house, mobile home, apartment, etc.): $60.00
2. Residential/agricultural/farm property with a structure other than a home (barn, shed, etc.: $50.00
3. Residential property, no structures, at least 5.00 acres in size: $30.00
4. Residential property, no structures, less than 5.00 acres in size: $20.00
5. Agricultural or farm property, with no structure: $30.00
6. Commercial/industrial/religious property with a structure: $100.00
7. Commercial/industrial/religious property with no structure: $30.00
8. Commercial, multi-family, multi-structure: based on square footage, final billing amount will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the
Board of Directors
The website used for updating our property records is https://assessment.cot.tn.gov/TPAD
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2. TIMING OF INVOICE MAILING
We mail a notice of annual subscriptions due in the spring (late April, early May) that covers the up-coming fiscal year (July 1 – June 30). A reminder notice is sent to all unpaid accounts in the fall each year. (Your prompt payment in response to the first mailing helps us save on the cost of mailing those reminders!).
Any time you have any questions about your billing notice or your property information, any comments or suggestions, please either email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call the station at 901-476-8183 and leave a message – we will return your call as soon as possible.
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3. FIRE SERVICE IN TENNESSEE
Tennessee House joint Resolution 204 of 2011 asked the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations to study fire service in Tennessee, and to answer three questions: (1) How is fire service funded, especially in rural and suburban areas, whether provided by paid or volunteer fire departments?; (2) What is the effect on local governments of not having a fully funded fire department?; (3) What would it mean if firefighting was made an essential service. The final version, dated June 20, 2013, also included (1) a discussion and analysis of mutual aid agreements for fire service; (2) Inclusion of material from the University of Tennessee and other sources on other factors contributing to fire deaths; and (3) Expanded dis cussion of staff’s analysis on effects of funding and other factors. The entire document can be found at
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tacir/documents/FireService2013.pdf
Portions of that study address the funding or partial funding of fire departments through subscriptions (also known as dues or fees):
NOTES ON FIRE SERVICE IN TENNESSEE
As obtained from the Report of the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, dated June 20, 2013 Although a few Tennessee cities have provided fire service for more than one hundred years, historically, most fire service was provided by private fire departments supported by donations and fees from those they serve. As areas become more settled, residents tend to demand better fire service, and local governments eventually either subsidize private fire departments or establish their own. Still, of the 730 fire departments in Tennessee, 363 are privately operated,….. and most are nonprofit corporations. Page 7.
Both public and private fire departments must comply with all state law and rules of the State Fire Marshal’s Office, and both may be staffed by career or volunteer firefighters or both. Page 7.
An estimated $378 million was spent on fire service in Tennessee in 2011…. There are two main ways fire service is funded – through taxes and through fees. Page 10
As private entities, private fire departments can charge fees. Page 11
Fees can be paid in advance, in which case they are often called subscriptions. Those who choose not to pay the fee may be able to get service, but may be required to pay an incident charge. Local governments cannot assess an incident charge where fire protection is funded as a public service…… Private fire departments may charge any nonsubscriber for services rendered. Page 11
More than three-quarters of fire departments in Tennessee are staffed by volunteer firefighters…... Volunteer fire departments are heavily funded through donations. Any fire department can accept donations, and local governments often contribute funding or equipment to nonprofit fire departments. Page 11
Both public and private fire departments can charge up-front fees to fund fire service…. These fees, which may be paid monthly or annually, are typically based on the square footage of the property to be protected. Page 12
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4. THREE STAR VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT FUNDING a brief history
For many years, Three Star Volunteer Fire Department (“TSVFD”) sent out annual billing/fee notices to owners of properties where a home or business was located. And if there was more than one home and/or business on the property, each received a separate billing. However, for the fiscal year beginning 07/01/2015, the TSVFD Board of Directors decided to bill all property owners in the Three Star District, whether there was a home/business on the property or not. This would spread the responsibility of supporting TSVFD among all property owners, rather than just with homeowners. There were only two billing amounts -- $60 for a non-commercial or non-religious property, or $100 for a commercial or religious zoned property. Feedback received was both positive and negative; the Board considered all comments and suggestions, and the following year, beginning 07/01/2016, instituted the tiered fee schedule, based on a property’s zoned use and existing structures, as outlined above. Other volunteer fire departments in Tennessee charge fees based on each structure on a property, or on assessed value of the structure and/or property. But our fees are standardized – no billing for multiple structures on the same property (except in the case of Item #8 in the list of current fees, where there is a commercial facility with multiple buildings housing multiple families or residents), and every property in a certain classification receives a bill for the same amount. To date, those fees have not changed, and we have had very good response to this billing system. The fees/subscriptions/dues that we request from property owners that we serve account for over 50% of our operating budget and allow us to maintain our ability to protect you and your property.
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5. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What if I have lost my invoice/billing statement? Please either email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call the station at 901-476-8183 and leave a message – we will get back to you as quickly as possible. Please include your contact information and the address of the property you are checking on. We can then provide you with either another copy of your statement or just the amount due, if that is sufficient.
2. What if my property changes during the year (zoning, build a new house, buy additional land from my neighbor)? Will you send me an additional bill? We update our records twice each year, prior to sending out statements or reminders, and we update according to what is on the Tipton County property assessment website as shown in section #1 above. If they have updated their records since your property detail changed, then we will invoice accordingly. Sometimes their update is completed after we have reviewed our records, so our billing is still the “older” property information – if your new house is not yet listed, for example, we will continue to invoice based on the undeveloped property as shown on the website. If you pay that amount, your account is considered up to date, and data will “catch up” prior to the next review. Our billing is always based on what the website has as of the date of review. If you ever have any questions about our information, or how changes in your property data can affect your billing amount, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 901-476-8183 and we will go through the data with you.
3. How can I make a donation to Three Star Volunteer Fire Department? Can I make a donation in memory or in honor of a loved one? We welcome any donation, and especially those either in memory or in honor of your loved one(s). If you are adding this donation to your subscription, please include the amount in the payment section of the subscription notice. If it is in memory/honor of someone, please also include a detailed note – the person you are honoring, as well as contact information of the person we can notify of your gift (for example, next of kin in the case of a memorial). If it is a separate payment, you can just send a check, made payable to Three Star Volunteer Fire Department, with a note that includes the details listed above. All payments can be sent to Three Star Volunteer Fire Department, 2050 Sadler School Road, Brighton, TN 38011.
4. Can I pay my subscription by credit card or on-line? We are not currently set up to accept your payments in any form other than checks or cash. While those additional payment options may be convenient, the companies that process those payments charge fees for that convenience, and we would either have to pass those fees along to you or increase our budgeted expenses to cover them. We are not comfortable at this time with either of those options.
5. How is my annual subscription/fee/dues payment used? Just like you and your family, TSVFD must pay insurance, utilities, fuel, new equipment, and repair and maintenance of existing equipment, among other expenses. We face the same challenges of costs increasing more quickly than income, and constantly strive to be good stewards of the funds we receive from our members. No firefighter or Board member receives any compensation for their service to the Department and the community.
6. What other funding does TSVFD receive? We normally receive a grant from Tipton County (currently is approximately 40% of our budget) – this funding is not part of the property tax you pay to the County! It also is not guaranteed, and the amount can vary each year. We also have a very active Auxiliary that works tirelessly at fund-raising projects throughout the year. And we receive donations that are always appreciated. Other sources that are not part of the normal annual budget include federal and state grants – we apply for these when available, but cannot count on receiving them on a regular basis; and billing insurance companies for fire calls.
7. Why should I pay the subscription? An active, well-trained and well-equipped fire department is one of the most valuable assets for a community, and we can’t be that asset without your help. You may look at that subscription fee and decide it is so small an amount that it wouldn’t be missed if you didn’t mail it in. But your check may be what helps buy the next tank of fuel that will get us to the next family in crisis. Every dollar counts! If you have paid your subscription for the current year, and we are dispatched to assist you with a fire-related emergency, we may submit an invoice to your insurance company for a maximum of $500, but there will be no further amount due.
We offer several ways to pay your subscription – either a lump sum payment each year, or, if you receive your utilities through Poplar Grove, you can apply to have your $60/year subscription paid monthly – a $5.00 per month charge will be added to your Poplar Grove utility bill. We include an application form with your annual billing each spring if you are interested in this option; these applications must be completed and returned to us prior to July 31 each year.
8. What if I don’t pay the subscription? Will you still respond to an emergency at my home? Our firefighters and emergency responders do not know whether you have paid the annual subscription or not when a call goes out. They just know that there is someone in crisis, and they respond accordingly. There is never any additional charge for a medical emergency response, whether subscriptions have been paid or not; however, if we are dispatched to assist you with a fire-related incident and you have chosen to not pay the subscription, we may bill your insurance company for the cost of manpower and equipment used, with a minimum billing of $500.00. And then you can thank all the volunteers who spend endless hours training to be prepared to respond to your call, as well as your neighbors who did pay their subscriptions so that we had fuel and equipment needed to respond to your crisis.