Legislation passes that resolves dispute between Columbia and BoCo Fire Protection District

The Boone County Fire Protection District now has legislative relief in a years-long dispute with the city of Columbia over fire calls on city/county limits.

“We felt like this was a last ditch effort for us,” said Assistant Fire Chief Gale Blomenkamp. “We were not real optimistic that it was going to pass.”

The bill, tacked on as an amendment to House Bill 1446, would allow the fire district to collect property tax revenue it was losing when Columbia officials annexed county property into city limits.

“We are a property tax funded organization,” said Blomenkamp. “Every piece of ground, whether it’s farm ground or a subdivision or a commercial property, that goes into the city fo Columbia, we lose that tax base.”

In 2015, the city said it could no longer afford to pay a fixed rate to the county to cover calls the Columbia Fire Department couldn’t get to quickly. The two organizations had almost two dozen meetings over the course of three years to work out fair compensation, but nothing was ever resolved.

In April, the fire district ended its automatic aid agreement with the city, which meant response times increased for residents that were on the outskirts of the city and not close to a CFD station.

“This is a bill to help save lives and property,” said Rep. Cheri Reisch, the bill’s sponsor. “If you’re having a heart attack or your house is on fire or you’re in a car wreck, it needs to be who is the closest fire station to you, not whether you’re inside the city limits or outside the city limits.”

The new law would go into effect as soon as Gov. Greitens signs it. It would not affect any property annexed before then.

Reisch said she did receive a letter from city manager Mike Matthes that indicated he would be open to talks this summer. ABC 17 News has reached out to the city to confirm that, and a spokesperson said he would double check and get back to us tomorrow.

Blomenkamp said the door is still “wide open” for city officials to talk with them. Reisch said she is hopeful the two sides can still reach an agreement despite the new law.

“I think this was just trying to get that to happen,” she said. “If it didn’t, now we’ve got this law to fall back on. There’s no choice, they must comply with it. It says in there, unless agreed otherwise.”

You can find the city’s original response to the legislation here.