To The Editor,

On August 4, voters who live in the Warrenton Fire Protection District will be asked to approve a one-half cent sales tax to help fund the district. The last tax increase the district received was a property tax increase in 2001.

The Warrenton Fire Protection District has approached voters about additional funds through a proposed property tax increase in 2014, 2016, and 2018, with each of those measures being defeated, and after reviewing all available options, we believe that a sales tax is a more fair, more equitable method of funding the growing district.

The growth within the Warrenton Fire Protection District is undeniable. According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, Warrenton’s population grew from 5,331 in 2000 to 7,880 in 2010, and currently stands at roughly 8,396. Those figures represent an increase in population of approximately 47.81 percent between 2000 and 2010, and another increase of approximately 6.55 percent between 2010 and 2020; a total increase of roughly 57.49 percent.

And population is not the only aspect of the district that has outpaced funding. The average daily traffic volume along Interstate-70 in Warren County (which runs right through the Warrenton Fire Protection District) has increased by about 21.18 percent — from 36,902 in 2000 to 44,718 in 2016 (the most recent year for which archived MoDOT data is available). Traffic on State Highway 47 has increased as well, and dramatically, during the same time period. The average daily traffic volume on Route 47 was 3,656 in 2000; by 2016 that total had jumped to 9,779 — an increase of more than 167 percent.

The bottom line is that growth and operating costs within the district have far outpaced funding, and the Warrenton Fire Protection District is working today with a 19-year-old tax rate.

The proposed sales tax would add one-half cent to every $1.00 of purchases made within the Fire District (which includes the cities of Warrenton, Truesdale, and Pendleton, as well as part of unincorporated Warren County). However, state law also requires the district to partially reduce its property tax levy the year after it begins collecting sales tax. We estimate the new sales tax could generate approximately $800,000 in 2021. Using that figure as a baseline, the district would reduce by roughly $400,000 the amount of property tax collected the following year.

Growth within the district, an increased call volume, a reduction in the number of volunteer firefighters available for duty, and increased operating expenses have all contributed to the present fiscal situation. Having listened to feedback from residents within the district, we believe the sales tax to be a more equitable funding mechanism than a property tax increase.

If it is approved by voters, the new sales tax would mean that anyone who makes a purchase within the District, whether they live here or not, would be supporting the fire district. Property owners have traditionally shouldered that burden, but the new sales tax would spread that out while giving some relief to property owners.

The current budget for the Warrenton Fire Protection District, roughly $1.2 million for fire stations (there are four within the district), fire apparatus, salaries, benefits, insurance, utilities, equipment, training, turnout gear, and more. Some of those elements have been curtailed or even eliminated.

Training has been reduced to the minimum essential to maintain necessary skills, utilities at un-staffed stations have been reduced to the minimum necessary to safely maintain the building and apparatus, and the Board of Directors has even opted to forego their ($50 per month) salaries.

The potential influx of funds would allow the district to resume training, better maintain its aging apparatus, and recruit, train, and equip volunteer firefighters (a process that costs several thousand dollars per volunteer, even though there is no salary involved).

More importantly, it would allow the district to plan for growth on pace with the projected growth of the district instead of playing catch-up.

Chief Anthony Hayeslip

Warrenton Fire Protection District