CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — A Yes vote for a Mid County Fire Protection District tax levy question will simply keep taxes at the same rate, the district chief says.
Chief Scott Frandsen is reminding voters that the request for a levy “will replace a .25 cent debt service levy that will expire at the end of this year. If approved the tax rate for the 2017 tax year will remain the exact same as it is in 2016.”
The district plans to use the funds next year to provide paid personnel to staff Station #2 in Greenview, as well as to develop a 15-year Capital Improvement Plan that will include replacing aging fire apparatus, rehabilitating two existing fire stations, and constructing a new fire station on Pier 31 Road. That fire station was promised to area residents in 2000, Frandsen pointed out.
The District currently has 5 apparatus more than 20 years old and 9 apparatus more than 15 years old. Frandsen noted, “These apparatus will need to be replaced over the course of the next few years.”
The station upgrades would take place at Station 3 in Roach and Station 5 in Decaturville, which Frandsen says are “in significant need of upgrades.”
Frandsen added, “This ‘levy swap’ is being made possible due to the Board of Directors refinancing the 2000 bond issue that resulted in over $350,000 in saving to the district as well as allowing the district to pay the bonds off 3 years early resulting in the ability to end the debt service levy at the end of this year. If approved the levy would be listed on the tax bills that will be sent out in late 2017.”
