Holts Summit Fire Protection District seeks tax increase for operations

EDITOR'S NOTE: The number of fire department personnel has been corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A volunteer fire department in Callaway County is asking voters to increase its funding so it can meet staffing needs.

The 90-square-mile Holts Summit Fire Protection District is asking voters to approve a 10-cent increase in its property tax levy, from 22 cents per $100 of property value to 32 cents. The district released information about the district Tuesday to explain its needs to voters.

Brad O'Neal, public information officer for the District, says they now want to increase that tax by 10 cents because it's currently not possible for them to operate effectively on each call with a limited staff. 

"Right now we have trucks rolling out for a structure fire in the middle of the day. Being all-volunteer we can't guarantee that there's always someone available to respond to those calls. So we need to supplement that with personnel that we know will be here during those key hours to make sure there is someone available to respond," said O'Neal.

The district says they would need to hire at least three more firefighters on a part-time basis during their peak hours between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m to meet their increased demands.

The district is currently operating with a 32-person crew of all volunteer firefighters and has a program that allows young adults the opportunity to live in the fire station for two years while attending college or working full-time, while simultaneously learning how to be a firefighter.

The district started in 1987 with a 30-cent tax that was later reduced to 22 cents after state tax reductions. This district says the increase will allow it to recover the 27% revenue reduction that has occurred over the past 34 years and will bring in an additional $160,000 annually, with most of the money going to staffing and additional incentives for volunteers to respond from home. 

O'neal said they work hard to keep a good score at the insurance service office to get individuals the best rates, but if they can no longer be quick those living in the district might see their homeowner's insurance increase.

"If it takes us longer to get to a call, we don't have the people to respond to the call, increasing the response times, then that in turn makes the iso score go back up, which in turn increases the homeowner's insurance," said O'Neal.

HSFD will need a majority vote from the community to make the tax increase effective. Voters will have a chance to vote on April 5th at their polling location.