The Warrenton and Wright City fire protection districts are asking voters to approve property tax increases when they go to vote on Aug. 7. 

District leaders say having adequate firefighting staff is a key goal of both tax proposals.

Warrenton Fire’s current tax rate is 44.97 cents per $100 assessed valuation. The district is seeking a 37-cent increase. 

Warrenton Fire’s last tax increase was in 2001.

Wright City Fire’s current tax rate is 41.27 cents per $100 assessed valuation. The district is seeking a 34-cent increase. 

Wright City Fire’s last tax increase was in 2002.

Staffing challenge

The Warrenton and Wright City fire protection districts have a mix of volunteer and professional firefighters. Prior to 2012, both districts staffed professionals during just daytime hours. 

Wright City Fire Chief Ron MacKnight said falling volunteer rates made it necessary to expand professional coverage to have firefighters at the ready 24/7.

“It has forced us to adapt our personnel model to full time,” MacKnight said. 

Wright City Fire made the change to 24/7 professional coverage in 2012. Prior to that, MacKnight said there could be late night fire calls where he was the only district firefighter responding. 

“When the bell rings, people expect us to show up,” he said.

Warrenton Fire made the same switch to 24/7 professional coverage in 2015, said Chief Mike Owenby.

During that time, MacKnight and Owenby said volunteer participation continued to drop. Owenby explained that even when there were more volunteers, many responded to fewer than 10 calls per year.

In 2016, Wright City Fire nearly doubled its professional staff using a federal grant to hire six additional firefighters. The grant runs out in 2019. 

A significant portion of the tax increase would be used to keep those jobs, MacKnight said.

Warrenton Fire is seeking to make a similar expansion by adding three more firefighters to each shift (nine firefighters total). Owenby said those firefighters would become a second crew so the district can respond to multiple calls at once.

Aging equipment

The greater focus on professional firefighting staff has made vital equipment difficult to afford, Owenby said. Both fire districts are seeking to replace breathing air packs that are reaching the end of their 15-year lifespans. Each pack costs thousands of dollars, Owenby said. He explained that those purchases have become difficult to afford because more of the fire district’s budget is invested in personnel.

Wright City Fire has its own equipment needs, including $200,000 to replace outdated radios. The district also plans to replace several fire vehicles if the tax proposal passes. The oldest of those vehicles is from 1985.

The cost to taxpayers

The funding for local fire districts comes from real estate and personal property taxes. The tax rates are based on the assessed valuation of property. “Assessed valuation” is significantly less than the real value of a property. For residential property, the assessed valuation is 19 percent of appraised value.

For the owner of a $150,000 home in Warrenton, the Warrenton Fire tax increase would cost about $105 per year.

For the owner of a $150,000 home in Wright City, the tax increase there would cost about $97 per year.

Other types of property, such as agricultural, are assessed differently. For help determining the assessed valuation of your property, call the Warren County Assessor’s office at 636-456-8885.

Fire districts are independent

Warrenton Fire Protection District is an independent political agency, as is Wright City Fire. They operate independently of each other and any other emergency district, although emergency agencies frequently work in cooperation. The fire districts are also independent from the cities of Warrenton and Wright City, and each district has its own elected board of directors.

Medical calls

One of the frequent questions about the Warrenton and Wright City Fire Protection Districts is why firefighters respond to medical calls. Owenby clarified that fire crews only respond to life-threatening medical alerts to provide support for ambulance staff. The firefighters in both districts are all trained for basic emergency medical response, and many are certified medical technicians, the chiefs said. The fire districts began responding to medical calls in 2017. Fire crews have since been involved in several lifesaving medical calls, they said.

Population growth might not boost budget

Warren County is seeing the beginning of a growing population trend, but that doesn’t mean a property tax windfall for the fire districts. State law limits how much budget growth can come from a large jump in property values, MacKnight explained. If the revenue from property taxes would increase beyond a certain amount, Missouri law requires a district to reduce its tax rate, rather than collect the additional money, he said.

Firefighters from the Warrenton and Wright City fire protection districts were called to put out a fire that engulfed a hay barn in April 2017.