Marble Hill Fire Dept. would join fire district under vote proposal

The fire department in the city of Marble Hill, Missouri, would become part of a tax-funded rural fire district under a measure that could come before voters in April.

City officials and the directors of the Woodland Fire District in Bollinger County have endorsed the proposal, said Marble Hill fire chief Calvin Troxell.

Troxell said proponents have collected nearly 400 signatures to put the issue on the ballot.

Voters in the city of Marble Hill and the surrounding area not already in the Woodland Fire District would vote on the measure, which would impose a property tax of 30 cents per $100 assessed valuation.

The measure needs a simple majority to pass, Troxell said.

A tire rests against a Glen Allen fire engine parked off of Highway 34 on Jan. 16, 2018, in Marble Hill, Missouri.BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

Property owners in the Woodland district already pay the tax, he said.

The tax that would be imposed in Marble Hill and the surrounding area would not take effect until January 2019, Troxell said.

As a result, the district would be operating for a year without the "extra income," he said.

Troxell and Marble Hill assistant fire chief Lucas Simmons said it makes sense to expand the Woodland Fire District because the Woodland and Marble Hill volunteer departments already work together.

Simmons said there is no jurisdictional dispute. "We are here to fight fires," he said.

Marble Hill has 19 volunteer firefighters, which includes the dozen firefighters who work for the Woodland Fire District, Troxell said.

Under the proposal, the city's fire trucks would be turned over to the district. But Troxell said the equipment would continue to be stationed at the Marble Hill fire station.

Marble Hill's fire department regularly responds to fires in the surrounding area outside the city and would continue to do so under the new arrangement, Troxell said.

Anyone within five miles of the Marble Hill station not currently in a fire district could see a decrease in their insurance rates, he said.

Troxell said the move would put less strain on city finances and "it takes away the worries of the fire department" in regards to its annual budget.

City services are funded with a sales tax, he said.

Fire department operations cost the city more than $60,000 a year, Troxell said.

The city no longer would bear that expense if voters approve the fire-district plan, he said.

It also could result in more funding for fire services, Troxell said, adding that the property tax could generate about $80,000 annually within Marble Hill and the surrounding area.

That revenue would be in addition to the tax money already collected in the existing Woodland Fire District, he said.

Simmons, Marble Hill's assistant chief and Woodland's fire chief, welcomed the opportunity for added funding.

He said aging air packs used by their firefighters need to be replaced. A single air pack can cost $6,500 to $8,000, he said.

The fire district has three stations, one each in Glenallen, Grassy and Dry Creek.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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