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NewsMarch 22, 2017

A proposed tax levy in the Fruitland Fire District has sparked debate over whether residents will see a drop in their homeowner insurance premiums if voters approve the tax increase. The proposed 50-cent per $100 assessed valuation tax increase would provide added revenue to pay for full-time staffing of the district's main fire station in Fruitland...

A proposed tax levy in the Fruitland Fire District has sparked debate over whether residents will see a drop in their homeowner insurance premiums if voters approve the tax increase.

The proposed 50-cent per $100 assessed valuation tax increase would provide added revenue to pay for full-time staffing of the district's main fire station in Fruitland.

Board member Andy Renner said homeowners could see their insurance rates drop by 20 percent to 30 percent if the staffing change results with a better ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating.

But local insurance agents said there are a lot of variables in determining homeowner-insurance premiums, and they can vary by company. ISO ratings are just one factor, they said. At least one major insurance company doesn't consider ISO ratings at all.

Fire-district officials suggested the department's ISO rating could go from 8b to 6 from the staffing change. The neighboring East County Fire Protection District recently garnered a 6 rating, Fruitland fire chief Rob Francis said, explaining why he believes his district could achieve such a ranking.

Departments nationwide are rated on a 10-point system, with one being the best and 10 the worst.

Former Fruitland volunteer firefighter Travis Sheppard expressed doubt the ISO ranking will improve and insurance rates ultimately would drop.

Proposition F, the tax proposal, would generate an estimated $523,983 a year in added revenue to fund salaries, insurance and benefits for two staff officers and nine firefighters/medical first responders, fire district officials said.

Francis said the move could improve response times to fires and medical calls and lead to more training for firefighters. Such benefits should boost the ISO rating, he said.

Under the proposal, the bulk of the firefighters would continue to be volunteers. The district's two other stations would be manned solely by volunteers, fire officials said.

Sheppard said adding full-time staff could cause friction with volunteers.

Francis dismisses such criticism. He said the Jackson Fire Department has succeeded with a combination of paid staff and volunteers.

Sheppard said he doesn't believe the staffing plan will improve services.

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"Unless they put an ambulance in the station, they are not enhancing anything," he said.

Local Farmers Insurance agent Valerie Michelsen said a drop in the ISO rating to 6 could save homeowners "several hundred bucks a year" in insurance premium costs.

Michelsen said ISO ratings are one of many factors Farmers and other insurance companies use in determining home-insurance premiums.

State Farm agent Bo Shantz said his insurance company no longer looks at ISO ratings in determining insurance premiums.

State Farm is such a large company, it has considerable data to calculate insurance premiums without factoring ISO ratings, he said.

When it comes to fire protection, insurance companies look at a lot of variables, including fire equipment, Shantz said.

Improving response times for medical first responders is a health issue, not an insurance issue, he said.

ISO evaluates fire departments on three categories. Fifty percent of the rating is based on things such as the department's equipment, staffing, training and other factors.

Water supply accounts for another 40 percent of the rating. Emergency communications including 911 and dispatching systems account for the other 10 percent, according to ISO vice president Robert Andrews.

The New Jersey-based ISO takes into account the personnel available to respond to first alarms, he said.

In the case of volunteer firefighters who normally are not on duty at a fire station, "ISO reduces the value of the responding members to reflect the delay due to decision, communication or assembly," Andrews said in an email.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

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