The Dunklin Fire Protection District is seeking voter approval on April 8 for two tax increases, one to provide the district with more operating funds and the other to boost funding for firefighter pensions.
Proposition S is a tax increase of 25 cents per $100 assessed valuation, and, if approved, it would be phased in over three years, with 15 cents the first year and then another 5 cents each of the next two years.
The other ballot measure, called Proposition P, is a tax increase of 5 cents per $100 assessed valuation, and revenue from the proposition would be used to add to the district’s existing pension fund for employees.
Each of the two propositions requires a simple majority vote for approval.
Propositions
If passed, the revenue from Proposition S would be used to hire more firefighters and replace old trucks and other equipment, Fire Chief Brad Williams said.
“We would like to replace the ladder (truck); it’s 24 years old, and then the pumper rescue (trucks),” he said. “Passing a tax increase would make purchasing new equipment a little easier to plan on. The prices have doubled since the last purchase.”
Williams said the district is trying its best to make do with the revenue it has but finds it more and more difficult to keep repairing equipment rather than replacing it. Some of the district’s aging equipment is too old or in such poor condition that it can’t be repaired any further and replacements are required.
He also said that upgrading equipment would allow the district to better ensure that its Insurance Service Office rating remains low, which in turn could save residents money on their homeowners insurance.
If Prop P is passed, the district could offer employees a better pension, which would help the district attract and retain employees, Williams said.
Williams said that when the fire district was formed in 1974, a pension for employees was voted in, but no money was for it. In 2006, a tax of 5 cents per $100 assessed valuation was approved for the pension program, and the funding has remained at that level since then.
Funding has not kept pace with needs
The April election will be the sixth year in a row that the fire district has sought voter approval for the tax increases, and they failed each of the five previous years.
Last year, Prop S failed by a margin of 606 yes votes, or 46.08 percent, to 709 no votes, or 53.92 percent. Prop P lost by 481 yes votes, or 36.91 percent, to 822 no votes, 63.09 percent.
The district’s current tax rate is 66.01 cents per $100 assessed valuation. If both propositions pass, once Proposition S is fully implemented, the district’s overall tax rate would increase by 30 cents to 96.01 cents per $100 assessed valuation.
Passage of Prop S would cost the owner of a home valued at $200,000 by the county Assessor’s Office another $95 per year once it is fully phased in. Passage of Prop P would cost the homeowner another $19 per year.
Williams said the district passed a tax proposition in 1984 that raised the tax rate from 55 cents per $100 of valuation to 65 cents per $100 assessed valuation. The tax was rolled back to 40 cents in 1985, and didn’t increase to its current rate until 2006, where it has remained ever since.
“We have been unsuccessful five times to pass a request for an additional 25 cents for general revenue and an additional 5 cents to be placed in the pension plan for the firefighters. We are actually operating at (about the same) tax levy that was set in 1984.”
Williams said the district’s population has grown since then, leading to significantly more calls for emergency services and greater strains on the budget. The district had 1,066 service calls in 2006, and by 2024, it had increased to 1,451, an increase of more than 36 percent.
“As the population increases in the fire district, so does our call volume. As the call volume increases, this increases the amount of fuel that is used and the monthly maintenance of the apparatus,” he said.
Despite the fact that Dunklin Fire’s requests for more funding have been voted down five times, Williams said he hasn’t lost hope that the fire district will get voter support for the much-needed increase in funding this time around.
He said the biggest obstacle is simply educating taxpayers about why the district needs the additional funds and how they will be used.
He said Dunklin Fire’s budget in 2024 was $1,862,114.11. Passage of Proposition S would generate approximately $598,000 more in revenue per year, he said.
“With that, we could hire three more firefighters to give us four on a shift. This would help to cover our call volume more efficiently,” he said.
With three more firefighters, the district would have 12 full-time, paid firefighters on staff, he said.
Currently, the district sometimes finds itself short-staffed if a crew members is sick or on vacation, Williams said.
He said without the passage of a tax increase, eventually the quality of services will decrease. “We will still continue to operate the fire district on what money we do get. At some point we will need to cut services due to a lack of funding. We can only operate with what money we are given.”
Williams said the district covers 22 square miles that include Pevely, Horine, part of Barnhart and Herculaneum, as well as other parts of unincorporated Jefferson County in the Festus area and beyond. He said the district covers approximately 6,445 households and 128 businesses.
