(The Center Square) – More than $320 million is saved from Delaware taxpayers through volunteer fire departments.

State Auditor Kathy McGinnis released the annual fire report, which says that there is a tremendous saving to the state by not having paid, full-time firefighters in departments across The First State. 

“Delaware’s fire service is a tremendous asset to Delawareans,” McGuiness said in a release. “We performed our annual detailed cost analysis and identified what it would cost taxpayers to have an entirely state-employed fire service instead of having mostly volunteers.”

McGuiness said her office, despite the fact the state has zero plans of transforming volunteer firefighters into trained, paid firefighters, formulated the report to show the “fiscal value of having dedicated volunteer firefighters and EMTs.”

“Delawareans would see a significant increase in property taxes if the state were to have a fully state-employed fire service,” McGuiness said in the release. “For every $1,000 of a home’s assessed value, those residents would pay an additional $13.17. That means a home assessed at $100,000; would cost those residents an additional $1,317 in property taxes each year to support a fully state-employed fire service.”

In the report, according to the release, McGuiness provided recommendations to the General Assembly to contemplate setting up a Grant-In-Aid fund within the state budget to help pay for fire services.

“It takes adequate training, funding, and resources to protect the public,” McGuiness said in the release. “To keep pace with call volume, career and volunteer fire service members need our support in ensuring proper funding to continue the long-standing and proud tradition the fire service has in Delaware.”