Fruitland residents express support for tax increase but question amount

Roughly 83 percent of Fruitland Area Fire Protection District residents support a property-tax increase for the district, according to a recent survey.

The district published the results of the survey at the beginning of an informational meeting Thursday at Saxony Lutheran High School.

Out of the 620 residents who responded to a question about the proposed increase, 540 supported a tax increase to allow for a paid fire department.

But residents expressed concern about how much their taxes would increase.

The district proposed an additional 50-cent tax per $100 of assessed property value, roughly tripling the current tax rate of 26.9 cents per $100 of assessed property value, fire district board director Andy Renner said.

Fire-district taxes apply to only 19 percent of the total value of a property, but taxes would go from about $76 per year on a $150,000 home to about $218 per year, Renner said.

“I hate paying two things: taxes and insurance,” resident Mark Howard said. “If I’m going to be paying more in taxes, am I going to be paying less in insurance?”

Fire Chief Rob Francis said the district is aiming to improve its ISO rating from an 8 to a 6.

Francis based this change on voters approving the plan of three crews of three full-time firefighters, with one crew being at the station 24 hours a day.

He said every drop in ISO rating should lead to $70 to $80 off a resident’s insurance bill but added the district would not see a drop in ISO rating for about three years.

“The best-case scenario is that you would either gain in insurance or break even,” Francis said, comparing insurance savings and a tax increase.

Francis could not say what the full-time firefighters would be paid.

“How do you figure out the tax rate if you don’t know what you’re going to pay anybody?” resident Curtis Lorenz asked.

Resident Travis Sheppard, in an interview separate from the meeting, doubted the district’s ability to lower its ISO rating without obtaining easier access to water.

Francis brought up that point at the meeting, saying firefighters either have to draw water from a pond or rapid-fill a receptacle from a hydrant instead of being able to use water directly from a hydrant as they can in larger cities.

“They’re not going to drop ISO ratings,” Sheppard said. “It will be years before you see savings.”

Sheppard said he would like Fruitland to establish a more advanced medical service.

Cynthia Bleichroth, the district’s medical director, suggested all the members of the full-time crews could be certified as paramedics so Fruitland first responders could provide advanced life support.

She has worked for Gordonville Fire Protection District and said many of its firefighters are trained paramedics.

“Nobody likes to pay more taxes. We’re talking about three guys on full-time. Three guys can’t fight a fire,” Howard said. “Three people can save somebody’s life. What you’re wanting is $50 per person. Is $50 enough to save somebody’s life?”

Liz Reisenbichler, a resident who works for the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, offered a compromise tax solution.

She said Fruitland’s times are worst during normal business hours, when many volunteer firefighters are at their day jobs.

She said she has received fire services at night, and the district’s response time was much faster than the 21-minute average time Francis gave at the meeting.

Francis acknowledged the district’s times were worse during the day.

She suggested having paid firefighters at the station only during the day.

“It would be a lot cheaper,” she said.

The district did not make any decision Thursday. Francis said the soonest residents could vote on a tax increase would be the November ballot.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

Fruitland, Mo.

2004 Saxony Lane, Jackson, Mo.