By Susan Weich
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS — Before voters in the Wentzville and Lake Saint Louis fire protection districts decide whether to raise their taxes at the polls on Feb. 5, a little history lesson is in order.
Back in 2003, the Cottleville and Central County districts had budget deficits. Fire officials predicted gloom and doom after voters rejected 25-cent increases in their tax rates. Cottleville even considered shuttering a firehouse.
Instead, Cottleville firefighters took a pay cut. In Central County, firefighters agreed to a pay freeze.
By the end of 2006, both districts were back in the black, and firefighters were getting more money again.
How were the districts able to make this miraculous recovery without more tax money?
The answer is that they did get more tax money - from increased tax assessments. The districts got out of debt, in part, because homeowners had to pay them more due to reassessments on their property. Money also came in from new construction.
Next Tuesday, Wentzville’s fire district is asking taxpayers to raise the tax rate by 20 cents to 62 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. If the measure passes, the owner of a $200,000 house would pay about $76 more for fire service.
Chief Randy Bornhop said the district needs the money to hire firefighters and to buy equipment and land for new stations.
Sounds a lot like 2004, when the district went for an $8.3 million bond issue to keep up with the rapid growth in its corridor of the county.
After voters rejected that bond issue, Bornhop forecast a bleak future. There was talk of having to lower service.
But three years later, the district had enough money to break ground on a $1.1 million firehouse. It got a new ladder truck. The district was able to retire some of its long-term debt ahead of time and hire seven new firefighters.
How was Wentzville able to do these things without more money from that bond issue?
The answer is it got more revenue from increased tax assessments.
According to a 2007 report by the St. Charles County assessor’s office, the Wentzville fire district got the largest net increase of any taxing jurisdiction in the county. That was due in part to $90 million in new construction.
This year, new construction is estimated at more than $91 million, which likely will give the jurisdiction the highest net increase in tax revenue again, said Assessor Scott Shipman.
But Bornhop said the increase, which totaled more than a half-million dollars last year, is not enough to meet the district’s needs.
In Lake Saint Louis, the fire district is asking residents to approve a tax rate increase to pay for five additional firefighters.
This is the fourth time the district has tried to get money for more firefighters. This time, it is going for 17 cents, which would make the rate total 54 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a $200,000 house would pay about $65 more a year.
Chief Jeff Smith says that the district’s staff - which had been almost all volunteer until five years ago - needs to expand so that paid personnel can answer calls 24/7, not just on weekdays as they do now.
Without the additional funds and additional firefighters, the district can’t guarantee as prompt a response on weekends as during the week, Smith said.
What Smith doesn’t say is that because of mutual aid agreements with other fire districts, a flock of firefighters will show up at any fire.
Granted, Lake Saint Louis, which only covers 7 square miles, does not have the tax assessments of Wentzville, which covers 88.
And while Smith says tax assessments have allowed Lake Saint Louis to keep up with expenses such as gasoline and health care, he says it isn’t enough to cover the extra firefighters.
I’m not suggesting yet that Wentzville and Lake Saint Louis cut or freeze firefighter pay to get what they need, but I do think they should wait to see if assessments catch up before they go to taxpayers.
Does Wentzville really need that 20-cent tax hike? Does Lake Saint Louis really need that 17 cents?
Not if history repeats itself.
According to a 2007 report by the St. Charles County assessor’s office, the Wentzville fire district got the largest net increase of any taxing jurisdiction in the county.
Copyright 2008 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.
All Rights Reserved