Voters to decide Scott County tax levy for fire district

BENTON, Mo. -- Voters living in the Scott County Rural Fire Protection District will be asked Nov. 5 to authorize an additional levy of up to 50 cents per $100 assessed valuation on property tax bills.

"We have not had an increase since the fire district was established," district chief Jeremy Perrien said. "The bottom line: The economy has got the best of us."

The district was formed in 1989, according to Mike Riley, president of the Scott County Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors.

The current levy of 30 cents per $100 assessed valuation brings in about $115,000 per year, according Michelle Terrell, secretary-treasurer of the district's board.

"We've been operating on that same budget," Riley said, "but everything has gone up -- equipment has gone up, fuel has gone up, insurance. ..."

"We absolutely have to have it; it is a necessity," Terrell said.

District officials said in addition to expected population growth, the district's area has grown.

"The general area is Blodgett, Vanduser, Haywood City, Morley and those surrounding vicinities," Riley said. "The district now covers a pretty wide area."

"Our coverage area has tripled," Perrien said. "As we expanded, we went from one station to three stations. It's more expensive to run things now."

The fire stations are in Blodgett, Mo., Morley, Mo., and Vanduser, Mo.

"The cost of things in general to take care of this district has gone way out of reach," Riley said. "To be able to stay where we have been this long has been a miracle."

"We're trying to update all of our equipment and apparatus and operate, and we can't do it on our current budget," Perrien said.

Riley said it is important for a fire protection district to comply with the latest firefighting standards for equipment and certifications. "We're trying to make sure the guys who volunteer to do these jobs are safe," he added.

Perrien said the fire protection district has 29 volunteer firefighters. Volunteers are reimbursed on a per-call basis, Perrien said.

The board tried to get voters to approve additional funding at the April election, but it was "defeated pretty bad," Riley said. "I don't think people really realize how much it takes to operate the Fire District."

If they can't increase revenue, the district's only other option is to cut costs.

"If it does not pass, then we are going to have to look at closing one of the stations," Perrien said. "Obviously we do not want to do that."

The additional levy would increase property tax bills, he said, with the increase "estimated to be about $20 to $30 per year per household."

Perrien encouraged voters in the district to check with their insurance company and see how a fire station closing would affect their homeowner premiums.

State statutes have tiers for requesting voter approval for an additional levy, which is why the ballot question reads for the additional tax to go up as high as 50 cents on $100 assessed valuation, according to Terrell.

Terrell said she hasn't calculated the anticipated revenue for various rates but doesn't expect the district to set it at the maximum.

"Not immediately, we wouldn't take it up to 50 cents," she said.

Terrell said that provision would enable the district to adjust the rate in the future as costs increase.

"Hopefully this will carry us through for the next 20 or 30 years," she said.