Warrenton Fire Protection District’s latest bid at a property tax increase will be decided by area voters on Tuesday, Aug. 3. The fire district is seeking a 15-cent increase of its tax levy to rescue the district from severe financial woes.

If approved, real estate and personal property taxes within the fire district would increase by 15 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. That comes out to about $28.50 per year for a $100,000 home, or $57 per year for a $200,000 home.

Without an increase to its funding, the Warrenton fire district is warning that it may have to reduce services. Board of Directors President Rob Vogelgesang said in June that service reductions could include reduced personnel, or the sale of equipment, vehicles or facilities. The district has also drawn attention to increasingly frequent vehicle breakdowns that are a result of not having enough funding for preventive maintenance. Even volunteer firefighting is affected, Vogelgesang said, because the fire district still has to pay for equipment and certain other expenses for volunteers.

“As the president of the board of directors, I am committed to keeping this district transparent and fiscally responsible,” Vogelgesang told The Record this week. “At this point, it boils down to people making the commitment to give us 10 minutes of their day on Aug. 3 to vote yes on this tax increase proposition.”

Although similar ballot propositions for Warrenton Fire have failed multiple times in the past two years, district officials say they see hope if they can turn out the supporters they know are in the community. In this year’s April election, a little over 1,900 total people voted, with a Warrenton Fire proposition failing by just 190 votes. But in the November election before that, over 3,500 people voted in favor of a proposition (with 4,600 voting against).

If they can turn out the same level of support as last November, district leaders hope they can achieve a different result.

“The supporters are there, however the votes haven’t been,” district officials commented in a Facebook post sharing the election numbers.

This will be the seventh election since 2014 in which the Warrenton Fire Protection District has sought a tax increase. The fire district has been struggling with its finances since taking on an increased number of paid staff members to have career firefighters on shift 24/7.

Prior to 2014, the Warrenton fire district only paid for career staff members to cover shifts during the day on weekdays. Exclusively volunteer coverage was relied on for nights and weekends. 

District officials have stated that they increased paid staffing because volunteer coverage has become less reliable over the years. Critics and former volunteers say the district is over-reliant on paid staff and made volunteers feel unwanted.

A legal notification submitted by the Warrenton fire district for publication in the July 22 issue of The Record contained an error that incorrectly referred to the ballot proposition as a sales tax increase, rather than a property tax. Because of the legal requirements surrounding public notices, the fire district had to secure a court order Monday to amend the mistake in this week’s publication.

The ballots that will be given to voters, and the sample ballot published in The Record last week, correctly identify the proposition as a property tax increase.

Voters seeking information about their poling place location or ID requirements to vote should contact the Warren County Clerk’s Office at 636-456-3331.