SCOTT CITY OKs SALES TAX ON QUARTER CENT

SCOTT CITY -- Scott City voters on Tuesday approved a quarter-cent sales tax increase that will finance a new fire truck and auxiliary equipment.

In one of the heaviest turnouts in recent city history, the vote was 1,091 to 868 in favor of the tax. A simple majority was needed for passage.

All money raised from the sales tax hike will be designated to buy the truck and related equipment.

The new tax amounts to a nickel on a $20 purchase. It will remain in effect for five years.

Mayor Larry Forhan called the result "real encouraging."

"...It shows how forward-thinking the resident of Scott City are," he said.

"They passed a sales tax to do a job. When that job's done, the tax ends."

He said the sales tax was the fairest way to finance the acquisition.

The tax will raise about $250,000 over the five-year period. The truck probably will be bought through a lease-purchase arrangement which could take 14-18 months to finalize.

The time lag also is due to the need to custom-build the truck.

The city currently has two fire trucks. The new truck will replace a pumper that is nearly 25 years old.

The company that manufactured the old truck went out of business, making the acquisition of parts problematic.

The city plans to keep the old truck as a backup.

Aside from Chief Les Crump, Scott City has an all-volunteer fire department. Last year, it handled 479 calls, including fire, rescue, medical and service calls.

The new truck more than doubles the gallon-per-minute water output of the old truck, from 750 gallons per minute to 1,750 gallons per minute.

The existence large industries in the city for instance, Blair Industries, which makes vinyl products, and Wetterau Inc., the large food distributor and the city's new industrial site on Nash Road make a high efficiency pumper all-the-more valuable to the community, officials say.

Forhan pointed to the large fire fought last year at the Nash Road site as a demonstration of the need.

The new fire truck potentially could help the city lower its fire insurance rating, the chief has said, resulting in reduced insurance costs for city residents.

"But I don't think people were decided on whether their fire insurance rates would go down," Forhan said. "They saw the need."

But, he added, "now that the citizens have said yes, we're going to do everything in our means...to get a lower fire rating.

The highest rating is Class 8. Improving the city's fire insurance rating from Class 7 to Class 6 would save a homeowner with a $50,000 house $50 per year, the chief said.

Improving the city's fire insurance rating could have an immediate effect on commercial fire insurance rates.

MDRV