Wright City Fire Protection District residents will see two property tax proposals on the April ballot — Proposition S and Proposition C.Proposition S seeks a 34-cent levy increase that would increase the district’s current rate of $0.4127 per $100 of assessed valuation to about $0.75 per $100 of assessed valuation to support staffing levels and training.Proposition C will ask voters to approve a $7 million bond issue for the district to build a fire station and replace aging vehicles and equipment.Fire officials said the district has been losing volunteer firefighters along with working with aging housing and equipment.At the same time, response calls have been increasing. In 2013, the department responded to 526 calls. In 2016, there were 675 calls, and in 2017, the calls jumped to 922.“The large increase from 2016 to 2017 can be attributed to our agency lining up with all other Warren County (ambulance) and regional fire agencies and responding to life-threatening or potentially life-threatening emergency medical calls, such as cardiac and respiratory emergencies,” MacKnight said.The current main fire station was built in the 1970s, MacKnight said, and is in need of costly repairs and updates. He said the district does not take these requests lightly.“We have consistently been good stewards of public funds, but we are at a critical point,” said MacKnight. “Simply put (if these ballot issues pass), we will not have to lay off six full-time fire fighters and there will be a way for us to maintain needed equipment such as breathing air tanks and radios, both obviously very important tools to a firefighter’s job.”With the increases, the district plans to upgrade and update current services and position the district for future growth.“We anticipate the needs for our services to increase,” said MacKnight. “We certainly want to be prepared for what the future brings. We are also attempting to bring the organization up to current needs in terms of equipment and personnel incentives.”The last increase for the district was in 2002.Proposition SThis potential increase from Prop S will make the district’s wages and benefits more competitive in an effort to prevent employee turnover, as well as provide for volunteer firefighter retention and recruitment efforts, MacKnight said.Residential real estate in the fire district is assessed at 19 percent of market value. The assessed valuation of a home with a market value of $200,000, assessed at 19 percent, is $38,000.At the district’s current tax rate of $0.4127, MacKnight said, a resident with a home of this value pays about $13 per month for fire district services. At the proposed rate of $0.7527, he said, the same home would see an increase of about $11 per month.Proposition CThe $7 million bond issue will be a separate item on the ballot. Issuing bonds is a way for political districts to borrow money.This funding would go toward building a new fire station and replacing aging air tanks, radio equipment and vehicles.A yes vote would authorize the district to levy a separate property tax increase to pay off its bond debt. That tax increase would expire after 20 years when the bond is paid off.The estimated annual cost for taxpayers would be 20 to 25 cents per $100 assessed valuation, MacKnight said. That would be an additional $38 to $47.50 per year for a $100,000 home.Wright City Fire Protection District logo