Neither the size of their service area nor budgets seem to matter. The pay for fire chiefs of Buncombe County's volunteer departments vary, with one making a six-figure income and others making well below $40,000.
Public tax forms show compensation for 16 chiefs whose volunteer departments contract with the county ranged from roughly $17,000 to nearly $109,000 in 2015. While they reveal detail on how pay was determined — and that the highest-paid chiefs aren't necessarily running the largest operations — the forms also provide information not often readily offered by the private-but-publicly-funded departments.
Meanwhile, commissioners were told last week that other pay data show those employed by Buncombe's volunteer fire departments, from firefighters to chiefs, are underpaid in comparison to other counties.