The Dunklin Fire Protection District will ask voters on April 8 to approve two tax increases, one to generate more operating funds and another to better fund firefighter pensions.
Proposition S is a tax increase of 25 cents per $100 assessed valuation that would be phased in over three years, with 15 cents the first year and then 5 cents more each of the next two years.
The other ballot measure, called Proposition P, is a tax increase of 5 cents per $100 assessed valuation. Revenue from that proposition would be used to add to the district’s pension fund for employees.
Both propositions require a simple majority vote for approval.
If passed, the revenue from Proposition S would be used to hire more firefighters and replace old firetrucks and other equipment, Fire Chief Brad Williams said.
He said the district tries to make due with the vehicles and equipment it has, but some of it is so old and in such poor condition it can’t be repaired and needs to be replaced.
By updating equipment, Williams said, the district could make sure its Insurance Service Office rating remains low, which 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.
When the fire district was formed in 1974, a pension for employees was voted in, but no money funding mechanism was dedicated 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.
This is the sixth consecutive year that Dunklin Fire has sought voter approval for the tax increases, and voters have rejected them each of the past five years.
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 has been operating under the same rate since 2006, but costs continue to rise as the district continues to grow and the number of calls for emergency services continue to increase.
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.
That increase in revenue would allow the district to hire three more firefighters, and with those additional firefighters, the district would have 12 full-time, paid firefighters on staff, Williams said.
Currently, the district sometimes finds itself short-staffed if a crew member is sick or on vacation, he said.
If the district can’t get a tax increase passed, eventually the quality of services will decrease, 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.
Williams said the district covers approximately 6,445 households and 128 businesses.
