GORDONVILLE AREA RESIDENTS TO DECIDE ON TAX-RUNDED FIRE DISTRICT TUESDAY

GORDONVILLE - Residents of the 120-square-mile area of Cape Girardeau County served by the Gordonville Municipal Fire Department will decide Tuesday whether to create a tax-supported fire protection district to upgrade fire protection service in the area.

The proposed Gordonville Fire Protection District would be similar to other tax-supported, rural fire protection districts that have been established in Cape Girardeau County since the early 1970s.

Only two of the seven rural fire departments in the county have not organized as a tax-supported fire district: Gordonville and Whitewater. The Millersville Fire District is currently a non-taxing fire district.

The Gordonville Fire Department was established over 20 years ago with a $4,000 grant from the state. Today, the fire department and its all-volunteer staff serves 9,000 people. The department has about 30 trained firefighters and an aging fleet of equipment.

"What we're trying to do is provide better fire protection and safety," said Roger English of Gordonville. "Right now, the fire protection service for this area is provided at a great expense by the Gordonvile Municipal Fire Department."

English said about 65 percent of the households in the area served by the fire department donate $30 each year for the service. That leaves 35 percent who pay nothing for their fire protection service.

"We're not getting enough income to maintain our current level of fire protection service, much less upgrade the service," he said.

"Each year we receive about $27,000 in donations. Our operational expenses range from $28,000 to $30,000. We have worn out equipment and fire trucks that must be replaced. The only way we can upgrade the service is to have a dependable source of income each year."

English said the tax levy would raise about $55,000 annually. Total assessed valuation in the proposed fire district is $18,057,850. He said the tax cost to most residents would be less than the cost of their annual fire insurance premium.

If the measure is approved on Tuesday, a board of directors that would be elected at the same time would be authorized to meet later this fall to set a tax levy of up to 30 cents per $100 assessed valuation of home, farm and property or business. The district would receive its first tax revenues in December 1994.

Each year, the board of directors of the fire district would meet to establish the tax rate and set the budget for the fiscal year. English said the tax rate can be adjusted up or down, but cannot be raised above the 30-cent limit without a vote of the people.

Fire Chief Pat Jet said if the issue passes, revenue from the tax levy for the first year or two would be used to upgrade and increase the water supply in the district. After that, the fire district20would begin working to lower the area's IO rating from 9 to 8. He explained the lower IO rating would mean a reduction in most fire insurance premiums for those who live within the proposed fire district.

The proposed fire district will serve residents in the rural areas around Gordonville, plus Gordonville, Tilset and Dutchtown, and several residential subdivisions, including Grandview Acres, on Highway 25 and Hillcrest Manor, and Parkwood Lakes Estates Mobile Home Court on Route K, east of Gordonville.