Jackson aldermen to consider sales tax to pay for second fire station

The Jackson Board of Aldermen will decide Monday whether to place a quarter-cent sales tax on the November ballot to pay for personnel and operations at the current fire station and a proposed station. The new station would be on the east side of town on Old Orchard Road near the water tower and Interstate 55.

Mayor Barbara Lohr appointed an eight-member committee three years ago to explore options to improve the fire department's response time to incidents and to maintain the city's insurance rating for fire protection. Fire chief Jason Mouser, who served as co-chairman of the committee, said the city's Insurance Services Organization rating could change based on the group's next assessment of Jackson.

"During our last evaluation back in 2005 it was stated by the representatives from ISO the city needed to consider a second fire station, preferably on the east side of town because that's where it is farthest from the current fire station," he said. "They pretty much said next time you're evaluated in the next 10 years it could affect your ISO rating."

The ISO evaluates municipalities once every 10 years. Most insurance companies use that fire protection classification to establish insurance rates within a city. If Jackson, currently with a rating of four, dropped to a lower classification of five, all city residents could expect to pay as much as 10 percent more in fire insurance, Mouser said.

The number of Jackson residents went from 12,962 in 2005 to 13,929 last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Mouser said calls to the station have increased dramatically since he joined the department as a part-time firefighter in 1997. That year, the department received 200 calls. The number increased to 642 in 1999, the first year the fire department started responding to emergency medical assists. Last year, the department received more than 1,300 calls.

"We've really seen an increase in the call volume and the amount of responsibilities the fire department has -- fire, medical, technical rescue, vehicle extractions. All of that has really contributed to the amount of calls," he said.

The department also responds to motor vehicle accidents throughout the city, on Interstate 55 and on U.S. 61 to Fruitland.

Often crews can be at one call and receive a second call on the opposite end of the city, adding to their response time. Mouser said national standards say departments should respond within five minutes of a call 90 percent of the time. In the event of a fire, a second crew should be on scene within eight minutes. With only one company, Mouser said, the department relies on off-duty personnel, volunteer firefighters and mutual aid from other departments. That also slows response time, giving fires a chance to grow.

"Every minute that a fire burns, it doubles in size. Time is of the essence when fighting a fire," he said.

Currently the city has one four-member fire crew on duty at all times. If a second station is added, two crews of three firefighters would be on duty at all times at both stations.

For alderman and committee co-chairman Mark Dambach, trying to answer more than one call at the same time is one of the major arguments for the new station and accompanying sales tax.

"There is a desperate need for a second team. This would be an asset for the entire town. As the town grows, it is a matter of when, not if, tragedy happens. It is a small price to pay to ensure the safety of loved ones," he said.

If the sales tax passed, the total sales tax rate in Jackson would rise to 6.7975 percent, which city leaders say is still lower than rates in surrounding areas.

A second fire station would extend coverage to visitors doing business in Jackson, as well as its residents. That is the reason the committee recommended a sales tax instead of a property tax.

Dambach said the committee worked hard to keep costs to the taxpayer as low as possible. The station would be on land owned by the city and is in a tax-increment financing zone, which allows extra tax funds generated in that area to be used for infrastructure in that area.

"It is in our TIF district, so we have money in a special allocation fund that can be used to fund the construction of the building," Lohr said.

Lohr said she supports the tax and the recommendations of the committee are "practical and fiscally conservative."

cbartholomew@semissourian.com

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