Mapaville Fire Protection District voters will be asked April 2 to approve two tax increases – one for 25 cents per $100 assessed valuation and the other for 5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
If passed, revenue from the 25-cent tax measure, called Proposition Public Safety, would fund salary increases and equipment upgrades. Revenue from the 5-cent tax measure, Proposition Firefighter Pension, would be used to establish a pension fund for fire district’s employees.
Both propositions require a simple majority vote to pass.
If voters approve the 25-cent tax increase, the funding would be used to raise salaries, which is needed to recruit and retain firefighters, Chief Dave Brown said.
He said most of the district’s employees earn less than minimum wage, so he would like to have enough funding to pay them more than minimum wage, which is $12.30 an hour.
Governmental agencies, including tax-funded fire districts, are not required to pay minimum wage, Brown said, adding that the district only began hiring full-time firefighters in 2017 and hasn’t had enough funding to pay them minimum wage.
Currently, the average salary for the district’s employees is $12.24 an hour, but some make as little as $11.61 an hour, he said.
“It’s hard to hire people when they can go to McDonald’s or anywhere else and make more money,” Brown said. “We have fewer people entering the field every day, so we’re lucky if we get applicants.”
Brown said it’s not only difficult to find candidates to fill jobs, but also it’s hard to retain employees once they’re trained because they often leave for higher-paying districts.
“We have turned over 175 percent of our full-time firefighters since 2017,” he said.
Brown said the district spends a lot of money to train and equip a firefighter, so it’s costly to invest those resources in a new employee and then see the person leave once the training is complete.
“The first year it costs a one-year salary, plus that again, with uniforms, turnout gear and training them to work in Mapaville,” he said.
Brown said the district has taken a hard look at its budget and funding and has cut expenses where it can, but it needs more revenue to offer higher pay, along with a pension, which would go a long way to help the district hire and keep the employees it needs.
“We are the only fire protection district in the county that does not have a retirement plan,” he said
Brown said the district has four full-time paid firefighters, including himself, and about 25 part-time paid firefighters. The part-timers also would see their pay increased if the proposition passes, he said.
The district also has two volunteer firefighters, he said.
The district has a tax rate of 92.36 cents per $100 assessed valuation. If voters approve the 25-cent increase, the tax rate would increase to $1.1736 per $100 assessed valuation.
If the 5-cent tax hike also passes, the district’s tax rate would increase to $1.2236 per $100 assessed valuation. If only the 5-cent tax measures is approved, the tax rate would increase to 97.36 cents per $100 assessed valuation.
The 25-cent tax increase would cost the owner of a home valued at $150,000 by the county Assessor’s Office an additional $71.25 a year.
The 5-cent tax increase would cost the same homeowner another $14.25 annually, according to the district.
Brown said the 25-cent tax would generate about $185,000 a year, and some of it also would be used to upgrade equipment.
The 5-cent tax would generate about $37,100 for a pension fund, he added.
Brown said the district hasn’t asked for a tax increase since April 2016, when voters approved a 50-cent property tax to hire its first paid firefighters.
The district covers about 14.2 square miles, including parts of the Pevely, Hillsboro and Festus areas.
