The Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department is proposing property tax increases to add a sixth station near Lakeview and to replace aging equipment.
Representatives asked the Marion County Board of Supervisors Wednesday for a 1-mill tax hike to help build the new station. They said it would quicken response times and cut insurance rates for residents 45 percent to 60 percent, far more than the amount of the tax increase.
It would serve about 300 homes in the Airport Road area, Harmony and Lakeview.
Additionally, Chief Cole Robbins and Fire Protection District Board member Dewayne Stuckey unveiled a proposal to hold a referendum vote in 2018 to seek an additional 2-mill tax increase. Robbins said it’s needed to replace trucks and other equipment and not doing so could jeopardize its recently obtained Class 7xxxx rating.
The ratings determine how much fire insurance costs residents.
The tax increases would apply to each taxpayer in the fire district.
Stuckey said he understands there are many concerns about additional taxes.
“I know tax increases are a dirty word,” he said. “The other fire departments are facing the same challenges. This is a countywide issue. If we don’t do something, we’re going to start going backwards.”
Supervisors will continue to discuss the requests as it meets on budget items in the weeks to come. Supervisors recessed Thursday and intend to come back into session next Wednesday to continue meetings ahead of the Aug. 22 deadline to publish the budget.
Currently, each volunteer fire department receives 1 mill of county support, except for Foxworth, which receives 2 mills. The 2-mill figure is the maximum allowed by law.
Stuckey said the proposed new station would be at the Columbia Airport or on Airport Road. He said they would add a residential firefighter there to increase response times.
“We’ve known we’ve had this issue forever, but recently rules from the insurance commissioner have led to increases for many residents,” he said. “Residents in Lakeview used to be classified with Columbia’s rating, which is a Class 6. Now, because our fire station is more than five miles from the residences, people in Lakeview are classified as a Class 10.
“This challenge has been brought on by the requirement that insurance companies write fire insurance policies using the Mississippi State Rating Bureau-approved fire department ratings of the primary responding fire department and be within five miles of that department’s station.”
The additional mill could bring as much as $22,000 per year to the fire department.
“Would the increase only affect the 300 to 350 homes affected?” District 2 Supervisor Terry Broome asked.
Stuckey said the 1-mill increase would affect each taxpayer in the fire protection district.
“We were very careful in selecting a location,” Robbins said. “We wanted to make sure it covered areas where we had protection gaps.”
Robbins said if a new station and new engine were deployed in the area, immediate savings would be noticed.
Broome also suggested locating the new fire station in a building at the Marion County BusinessPlex.
“We can still look at that,” Stuckey said.
Board members also raised concerns about the City of Columbia annexing the area where the station was proposed.
“That would push it farther north,” Stuckey said. “The annexation lines and so forth are still to be determined. Even if they annex Lakeview, the need for the station would still be there. It’s still a lot of houses.”
Robbins then spoke to the Board about the need for a referendum in 2018.
“Due to the increased cost of equipment and requirements to maintain our Class 7, we are projecting a shortfall in the next three years that will jeopardize our service and our improved fire protection rating,” he said. “The shortfall will also remove any chance we have to achieve a Class 6 rating, which we are currently 2.8 points from achieving. Looking at our 18-year capital equipment replacement plan, we are considering a referendum in 2018 to seek voter approval for an additional TCVFPD 2 mill tax increase to bring the total millage to 4 mills (if a 1 mill increase is levied on top of the current 1 mill by supervisors).”
Robbins said the funding is needed because of requirements to replace aging equipment.
“The cost of replacing these apparatus is constantly increasing. We need to replace SCBAs, engines, brush trucks and tankers. The short of it is that things have gotten really expensive. With the cost of this equipment, we just can’t see it without an increase. Part of our success has always been the ability to look far enough into the future. I see things coming that we need to deal with.”
Pictured Above: District 2 Supervisor Terry Broome, left, looks at a fire district map with Tri-Community VFD Chief Cole Robbins and Board member Dewayne Stuckey. | Photo by Mark Rogers
