Voters approve tax hike for Whitewater

WHITEWATER, Mo. -- Voters narrowly approved a 10-cent tax hike for the Whitewater Fire Protection District that will pump more money into the volunteer department.

The measure passed Tuesday by five votes, 86 to 81. Fire chief Garry Moore was elated over victory even while conceding the closeness of the vote.

"I really didn't know which way this would go," said Moore.

Fire district officials did little campaigning and few of the district's nearly 800 voters cast ballots in the election.

But the low turnout may have worked in the measure's favor, Moore said. "Possibly if more people had voted, it could have easily been turned down."

A 10-cent hike raises the levy to 38.71 cents per $100 assessed valuation and provides the rural fire department with about $8,700 in added annual revenue.

The added money will help fund operations of the department, including installing hydrants to better pump water from farm ponds and lakes. Moore said that would lower insurance costs for the district's roughly 2,500 residents who are scattered over a farm-filled area that has few businesses and only a handful of small towns.

Whitewater is the largest town in the district with a population of 113.

The volunteer fire department's $30,000-a-year budget comes from personal property and real estate taxes. The tax money barely covers all the expenses -- over $28,000 last year for everything from gear and training for the firefighters to fuel and insurance.

Moore said his department has the lowest funding of Cape Girardeau County's seven rural fire departments.

Moore said the district's tax base is hampered by a lack of industry and Missouri's Hancock Amendment tax rollback, which lowers the levy when the assessed valuation rises from reassessment.

Voters approved a 30-cent levy for the district in 1994. But rollbacks since then have lowered it to its current level of 28.71 cents.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123