Both the Mapaville and Dunklin fire protection districts are asking voters to approve tax increases on April 2, with each district asking for two tax hikes.
Mapaville Fire’s first measure, called Proposition Public Safety, asks its voters to approve a 25-cent tax increase to fund salary increases and equipment upgrades. Its other measure, Proposition Firefighter Pension, asks voters for a separate 5-cent tax increase to start a pension fund for its employees.
Dunklin Fire’s Proposition S asks voters to pass a 25-cent tax increase, which would be phased in as a 15-cent increase the first year and another 5 cents each of the next two years. The district also has Proposition P on the ballot, which seeks approval for a. 5-cent tax increase to add to its existing pension fund for employees.
Each of the four propositions requires a simple majority to pass.
Mapaville Fire
If Mapaville Fire voters approve the 25-cent tax increase, the revenue it generates would be used to raise salaries in an effort to keep the district’s firefighters from leaving for better-paying jobs at other agencies, Chief Dave Brown said.
The district currently has a tax rate of 92.36 cents per $100 assessed valuation. If Proposition Public Safety passes, the tax rate would increase to $1.1736 per $100 assessed valuation.
If Proposition Firefighter Pension also gains voter approval, the total of the district’s tax rate would be $1.2236 per $100 assessed valuation. If only Proposition Firefighter Pension passes, the tax rate would go 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.
The 5-cent tax increase would cost the same homeowner another $14.25, according to the district.
“The reason for (Proposition Public Safety) is to get our crews a little above the Missouri minimum wage of $12.30 an hour,” Brown said. “Our average pay right now is $12.24 an hour and our lowest pay rate is $11.61 per hour. If this passes, our minimum pay would increase to $13 per hour.”
Brown said the district has four full-time paid firefighters, including himself, and about five 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 at present, he said.
Brown said the revolving door of firefighters at Mapaville is not conducive to building teamwork among the crews.
“This is very vital to pass,” he said. “We’ve turned over about 175 percent of our firefighting staff since 2017 (when the district first got paid firefighters). One year, I lost all three of my firefighters under me. I can’t fault them. They want a better-paying job with pensions.”
Brown said it frustrates him to train firefighters and then see them move on to other districts that offer better salaries and pensions.
“It costs us, like, two times their salaries their first year to pay for their turnout gear, uniforms and training, just to get them on board full time,” he said. “The biggest thing is the district residents are the employers and they’re paying less than minimum wage.
“Team cohesion, having people who know the area, know the people you work with, helps save people, rather than hiring new people who have to learn the area. But, we train them and they move on.”
Brown said the district also would use funds from the 25-cent tax increase to replace and upgrade equipment.
Brown said the 25-cent tax would generate about $185,000 in additional funds for the district.
If Proposition Firefighter Pension passes, the 5-cent tax would generate about $37,100 for a pension fund.
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 proposition) is for recruitment and retention,” he said. “We are the only fire protection district in the county that does not have a retirement plan. But, we didn’t have paid firefighters until 2017 (after the tax approved in 2016 started getting collected).”
In other district news, he said the district currently has two firetrucks up for sale.
“They’re a 2003 tanker and a 2007 pumper we’re selling by sealed bid, with the bids due March 18,” Brown said. “They’re two very good trucks; they’re just not used, low mileage. There are departments that could benefit from the trucks.”
For more information about the trucks or the bidding process, visit the Mapaville Fire Protection District Facebook page.
The district covers about 14.2 square miles, including parts of the Pevely, Hillsboro and Festus areas.
Dunklin Fire
Dunklin Fire officials have placed similar tax measures before voters each year since 2019 and hope the sixth time is the charm, Fire Chief Brad Williams said.
Getting Proposition P and Proposition S passed is a top priority, he added.
“We want to have three more firefighters and upgrade equipment,” Williams 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.”
The district would go from nine full-time paid firefighters to 12 full-time paid firefighters if it is able to add the three positions, he said.
As it stands, anytime a crew members is out sick or on vacation, the district is thin on firefighting personnel, Williams said.
The additional revenue also would allow the district to better prepare for replacing and updating equipment if Proposition S passes, he said.
“We need to replace trucks,” Williams said. “We have three that need to be replaced out of four trucks. That would happen over time. We need to start (saving) for it.”
If the tax increase is passed, when the full 25-cent hike is 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 pass, 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 district currently has a 5-cent per $100 assessed valuation tax for its employee pension fund.
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 bring in approximately $587,000 more for the district, and Prop P would add approximately $117,000 to the employee pension fund.
“Passage of Proposition P is important so our people will be taken care of when they retire,” Williams said.
He said a better pension system would help with employee recruitment and retention.
Brown said passage of the propositions also could benefit the district homeowners, who might see home insurance rates decease.
“The district’s ISO (Insurance Service Office) rating, if you have four firefighters on a shift, it could bring down our ISO number (with the lower number the better in the ratings),” Williams said. “We’re at a 4 rating and could get to a 3.”
The Dunklin Fire Protection District serves 22 square miles that include the city of Pevely, parts of the city of Herculaneum, rural Festus and other parts of unincorporated Jefferson County.