MILLERSVILLE FIRE DISTRICT HOPES TO PASS A TAX LEVY

MILLERSVILLE -- It takes money to fight fires -- just ask the Millersville Rural Fire District, which is seeking voter approval of a 30-cent levy on April 5.

Since the creation of the district 17 years ago, the district has depended on donations to cover everything from fire suits to pumper trucks.

But it's just not enough now, fire district officials say.

"Our money just doesn't go far enough anymore," said Mickey Thompson, the volunteer department's fire chief.

"We just can't buy the equipment we need. We are just holding our own," said Thompson.

"It has gotten to the point that we have to either tax or we have to scale back," he said.

Gene Peterman, a director and volunteer fireman who serves as the district's treasurer, said that in establishing the first district in 1977, voters gave the district the authority to impose a tax rate of up to 30 cents.

But Peterman said fire district officials decided that after all these years of relying on donations, it was only fair to submit the tax issue to the voters.

"Seventeen years is a long time not to use something. We thought it was only fair that they (voters) get a chance to say yes or no to the tax issue," said Peterman.

The Millersville district is one of only two fire districts in Cape Girardeau County that currently are not tax supported, he said. The other is the Whitewater Fire District.

Donations amount to about $28,000 a year. But operational needs total $32,000 to $35,000 annually, he pointed out. "So each year we have had to reduce expenses from $4,000 to $7,000."

Said Peterman, "We gradually have been falling further and further behind."

The issue is whether "voters want us to try to improve services or hang on as best we can," said the veteran firefighter.

"We are at a place where we must either shrink back to our income or increase revenue," he maintained.

A 30-cent levy would raise about $40,000 annually, based on the district's assessed valuation of $13.9 million, said Peterman.

The tax revenue would allow the district to begin replacing its aging fire trucks and establish a third fire station, he said.

Fire district officials would like to erect a three-bay station in the Burfordville area to serve the southern end of the district.

The district right now has two stations: one at Millersville and the other at the junction of Highways 34 and 72 near Jackson.

Currently, it's difficult for the district to pursue long-range goals because banks are reluctant to loan money to a donation-dependent entity, both Peterman and Thompson pointed out.

The district encompasses about 25 square miles. "We cover from the Jackson city limits to the Bollinger County line on Highway 72 and then about five miles on either side of that line," said Thompson.

Peterman said the volunteer fire department serves about 1,150 families.

Each year, about 800 families donate to the district. The requested donation is $35 per household.

Peterman said a tax would be a fairer system. "The donation system is not fair, for all do not pay."

Both Peterman and Thompson said the district needs to begin replacing its aging fire trucks and other equipment.

The proposed improvements also could help the district receive a Class 8 insurance rating, which would mean a savings for property owners, Peterman said.

Currently, most of the district has a Class 9 classification. Homeowner's insurance for a frame home valued at $50,000, within five miles of a fire station in a district with a Class 9 rating, amounts to about $315 a year, he said. In a Class 8 category, the cost would be $280 a year, Peterman pointed out.

He said a 30-cent levy won't prove a huge burden for taxpayers. Under the proposed levy, a homeowner with a home valued at $60,000 would end up paying a tax of about $34 a year, he said.

As to the need for new equipment, Peterman said: "All of our trucks are getting old. I think the newest one is 14 years old and the oldest one is 38 years old."

The volunteer department has two pumpers, two 1,000-gallon tankers and one 3,000-gallon tanker truck.

Thompson said the department needs a brush truck to fight grass fires, as well as new fire gear and hand radios.

"Gear is so expensive. We bought 10 fire suits the other day which cost over $6,000," he pointed out.

Peterman said the district has to budget about $1,200 for new fire hoses and $4,000 for insurance annually.

The district has about 30 volunteer firemen, said Peterman.

Thompson said he hopes a majority of the voters will see the need for the tax.

But he acknowledged there will be some opposition. "We are going to have some opposition because there are some people strictly against taxes no matter what it is."