SEVEN OF BIEHLE'S EIGHT VOTERS ADOPT A TAX

BIEHLE -- Seven of this tiny incorporated town's eight registered voters cast ballots for a 1-cent sales tax in a special election Tuesday. The eighth didn't vote.

The election was so small that the ballots were mailed to the town's voters. Some of the ballots were then mailed back to the Perry County clerk's office and the rest were brought in by the voters.

"We didn't open them until this morning," Perry County Clerk Randy Taylor said Wednesday. "There's not much to it; you just verify the signatures of voters."

The town comprises 56 acres, including Buchheit Inc., a general-merchandise, farm- and building-supply store that has long been a fixture in the area.

The vote was basically a family affair as the town's residents consist of the Buchheit family, which owns Buchheit Inc., and another resident who works for the company.

Approval of the tax measure came as no surprise. The town was incorporated Sept. 16 with a view toward enacting the sales tax to help start up a rural fire department to serve the incorporated community and the surrounding Biehle area.

Ken Buchheit, manager of Buchheit's and a member of the town board, said of the vote, "We are kind of tickled."

But he played down the Buchheit family's role in the tax issue.

He said the tax, which will be collected on sales at the Buchheit store, will be used to help fund the new Biehle Community Fire Protection Association.

Buchheit said the rural community and not just the residents of the incorporated town have been supportive of the effort.

"This is a real community project. It's not just us," said Buchheit. "The way the whole community is involved in this thing is really remarkable, I think."

Bill Doan, the volunteer department's fire chief, said collection of the sales tax could start by July. He said it could be September before the volunteer department starts receiving any of the money.

Doan said the tax is expected to generate $80,000 to $90,000 annually. Most of that money will go to the fire association under a contract with the town board. "We will get 75 percent of that for three years, with the option to renew for three years after that."

The rest of the funding will be used to pay the town's legal and accounting expenses, Buchheit said.

Doan said the fire department is expected to begin operating later this year.

Once the fire department is fully established, he said, funding from the sales tax will be reduced to a maintenance level.

"We have roughly 15 firefighters at this point," said the volunteer fire chief. Currently, the association has two fire trucks an old pumper and a tanker truck.

Plans call for construction of a fire station on property along Route B now owned by the Biehle Social Club. The association would lease the land and building from the club, Doan explained.

Weldon Ernst, a member of the board of directors of the fire association, said the association has about 70 members. There is a $5 membership fee. Each member has a vote in the operation of the association, he explained.

Both Ernst and Doan said the fire department will provide fire protection for the entire Biehle area, not just the incorporated town.

Ernst said the department hopes to provide fire protection in a five-mile radius from the fire station, although no exact boundaries have been established.

"We are going to try to cover over into Bollinger County and parts of Cape County," he added.

Doan emphasized: "We are going to protect everybody. The fire department's liability insurance will not cover us unless we protect everybody."

Ernst said: "People are excited about this. I think this will be a real good opportunity for us" to improve fire protection.

There is a Perry County fire department, but it is headquartered in Perryville, 10 miles from Biehle.

Ernst said establishment of the new fire department would result in lower fire insurance rates for homeowners and businessmen in the Biehle area.

Ernst said he expects to save $70 to $80 a year on fire insurance for his farm home alone.

"That (fire insurance) is why a lot of people are interested in it," Ernst said of the developing fire department.

Doan estimated the new department may make 20 fire runs a year or roughly two a month. He said that estimate includes not only fires, but responses to traffic accidents and other emergencies.

He said passage of the sales tax is an important step in providing better fire protection.

"Rural fire departments nationwide are having trouble coming up with funding. It is the biggest stumbling block nationwide to getting good fire protection in rural areas."

Doan said the sales tax provides the Biehle association with the necessary funding. "It seems like the biggest step has been overcome."