Boone County Fire Protection District says it needs $14 million

The Boone County Fire Protection District says it is in desperate need of $14 million to replace some very outdated fire equipment.

Board member Dave Griggs said the money would likely go toward new equipment and building upkeep.

Some of the fire trucks are more than a decade old, and while most of the buildings need a lot of maintenance, they need at least one new building.

Griggs also told ABC 17 News he feels Boone County needs more emergency coverage.

The last time the Boone County Fire Protection District passed a bond was in 1998, and that expired five years ago. This new bond will go before voters in April.

It would increase property taxes by 25 cents per $100 of assessed value.

Board members said this bond has been in the works for a while, but the timing just hasn’t been right.

The last bond issue the district had was in 1998.

“The $14 million would provide our volunteers with equipment and apparatus that are not state of the art but are recent. Technology changes very drastically as we all know,” said Gale Blomenkamp with the Boone County Fire Protection district.