The Dunklin Fire Protection District is seeking voter approval on April 2 for two tax increases.
The first is an increase of 25 cents per $100 assessed valuation to be phased in over three years and the other is an increase of 5 cents per $100 assessed valuation.
The 25-cent tax measure is called Proposition S, and revenue from the increase would be used to hire more firefighters and upgrade equipment, Fire Chief Brad Williams said.
If approved, the district’s tax rate would increase by 15 cents the first year and then by another 5 cents each of the next two years.
Revenue from Proposition P, the 5-cent increase, would be used to add to the district’s existing pension fund for employees.
Each of the two propositions requires a simple majority to pass.
The district, which hasn’t seen a tax increase since 2006, has asked voters to approve similar tax hikes each year since 2019 and all have failed.
Williams said he hopes voters support the measures this time around because the district’s call volume continues to rise and more firefighters are needed.
“We want to add three more firefighters and upgrade equipment,” he said. “With the amount of calls we’re receiving, it would help us do better coverage. With current staff, we sometimes run two firefighters on a truck. Adding staff would allow us to keep three on a truck.”
With three more firefighters, the district would have 12 full-time, paid firefighters on staff, he said.
Currently, the district can find itself short-staffed if a crew members is sick or on vacation, Williams said.
Revenue from the 25-cent increase also would allow the district to replace old trucks and other equipment.
Williams said three of the district’s four trucks need to be replaced, which would occur over time, not all at once, but the district needs to start saving up to buy them.
The district currently has a 5-cent per $100 assessed valuation tax for its employee pension fund, and if the additional 5-cent tax for the fund is approved in April, the district could offer employees a better pension, which would help the district attract and keep employees, Williams said.
If the tax 25-cent hike is passed and once it’s fully phased in, the district’s property tax rate would rise from 66.01 cents per $100 assessed valuation to 91.01 cents per $100 assessed valuation. If both Proposition S and Proposition P were approved, the levy would increase to 96.01 cents per $100 assessed valuation. If only Prop P passes, the levy would rise to 71.01 cents per $100 assessed valuation.
The 25-cent increase would cost the owner of a house valued at $150,000 by the county Assessor’s Office an extra $71.25 a year, and the 5-cent increase would cost the same homeowner an extra $14.25 per year.
Williams said passage of Prop S would add bring in approximately $587,000 more for the district, and Prop P would add approximately $117,000 to the employee pension fund.
He said a better pension system would help with employee recruitment and retention.
The district covers 22 square miles that include Pevely, parts of Herculaneum, rural Festus and other parts of unincorporated Jefferson County.
