Q&A: Lake Ozark Fire District Proposes Tax Increase

LAKE OZARK, Mo. — The Lake Ozark Fire Protection District is asking voters to approve a 0.25 levy increase, on the August 8 ballot.

In June, the LOFPD board approved putting the question on the ballot. The increase is meant to fund more personnel, general maintenance, and the replacing of outdated equipment. The district recently released a Q&A about the potential levy increase. LakeExpo has republished it below:

LOFPD Q & A for Levy Increase

Q: How does the issue appear on the ballot?

A: While the language may vary slightly from Miller Co to Camden Co, the general language should be as follows:

PROPOSITION FIRE Shall the board of directors of the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District be authorized to levy an additional tax of not more than twenty-five cents on the one hundred dollars assessed valuation to provide funds for the support of the district?

Q: How will this affect my real estate property tax?

Formula: (Home value x 0.19 x 0.25/100)

Quick Reference for home values

$200K home=$7.92/month or $95/yr. o
$300K home=$11.88/month or $142.50/yr.
$400K home=$15.83/month or $190/yr

Formula: (Vehicle value x.333 x 0.25/100)

$25K automobile=$1.73/month or $20.81/yr.
$30K automobile-$2.08/month or $24.98/yr.
$40K automobile=$$2.78/month or $33.30/yr.

Q: What will these funds be used for?

Personnel

Retention and recruitment of top talent to best serve the residents and visitors of our district. In FY 22, our organization endured a 15% turnover rate in operational personnel.
Personnel are lost to higher paying districts and municipalities across the state.

Replace aging equipment and apparatus.

The average age of our fire suppression fleet is 16 years old, and still serving in a front-line capacity.
The current average cost of a new fire engine (unequipped and unmanned) is just over $1 million dollar

The district is also in need of replacing our 2" boat for fire suppression and rescue on the south side of horseshoe bend.