North Carolina General Statutes 58-87-1. Volunteer Fire Department Fund
(a) Fund. – The Volunteer Fire Department Fund is created as an interest-bearing, nonreverting fund in the Department to provide grants to volunteer fire departments to purchase equipment and make capital improvements. The Commissioner shall administer the Fund. Up to one percent (1%) of the Fund may be used for additional staff and resources to administer the Fund in each fiscal year.
(a1) Grant Program. – An eligible fire department may apply to the Commissioner for a grant under this section. In awarding grants under this section, the Commissioner must, to the extent possible, select applicants from all parts of the State based upon need. The Commissioner must award the grants on May 15, or on the first business day after May 15 if May 15 falls on a weekend or a holiday, of each year subject to the following limitations:
(1) The size of a grant may not exceed thirty thousand dollars ($30,000).
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 58-87-1
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
- property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
(2) Repealed by Session Laws 2021-178, s. 2, effective December 1, 2021.
(2a) The applicant shall match the grant as follows:
a. Applicants receiving less than or equal to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per year from municipal and county funding are not required to match the grant funding.
b. Applicants receiving more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) but less than or equal to seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) per year from municipal and county funding shall match one dollar ($1.00) for each three dollars ($3.00) of grant funds.
c. Applicants receiving more than seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) per year from municipal and county funding shall match the grant on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
(3) The grant may be used only for equipment purchases, payment of highway use taxes on those purchases, costs of putting property acquired from the Department of Defense through the Firefighter Property (FFP) and federal Excess Property (FEPP) programs in service, or capital expenditures necessary to provide fire protection services.
(4) An applicant may receive no more than one grant per fiscal year.
(b) Eligible Fire Department. – A fire department is eligible for a grant under this section if it meets all of the conditions of this subsection. No fire department may be declared ineligible for a grant solely because it is classified as a municipal fire department. [The required conditions are:]
(1) Repealed by Session Laws 2016-78, s. 2.1(a), effective June 30, 2016.
(2) It consists entirely of volunteer members, with the exception that the unit may have paid members to fill the equivalent of six full-time paid positions.
(3) It has been certified by the Department of Insurance.
(c) Report. – The Commissioner must submit a written report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on General Government within 60 days after the grants have been made. This report must contain the following:
(1) The amount of the grant and the name of the recipient.
(2) The Fund balance at the beginning of the grant cycle.
(3) Cash receipts through the previous grant cycle.
(4) Cash disbursements through the previous grant cycle.
(5) The Fund balance at the beginning and end of the previous grant cycle.
(d) Repealed by Session Laws 2022-74, s. 30.1, effective July 1, 2022. (1987, c. 709, s. 1; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1062, ss. 6-9; 1989, c. 770, s. 30; 1995, c. 507, s. 7.21A(k); 1998-212, s. 25(a); 1999-319, s. 1; 2004-203, s. 5(c); 2006-196, s. 8; 2007-250, s. 3; 2013-360, s. 20.2(b); 2014-64, s. 4(a), (b); 2016-78, s. 2.1(a); 2021-178, s. 2; 2021-180, s. 37.7(d); 2022-74, s. 30.1.)