Warrenton voters will be asked once again to approve two ballot measures for the Warrenton Fire Protection District. 

Proposition Life Saving Equipment is a $10 million bond issue that Fire Chief Anthony Hayeslip said would be used to pay for needed capital improvements like a new fire truck and other equipment. 

Proposition Fire Safety is a 25-cent tax increase that would be used to shore up the district’s dwindling reserves and provide the funds necessary to bring on additional firefighters and staff Station 1 around the clock, according to Hayeslip. 

The district’s current tax rate is just short of 45 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, and would increase to just under 70 cents per $100 of assessed valuation with Prop F’s passage. 

Prop F can be passed with a simple majority while Prop L requires a four-sevenths majority, or 57.14% as a bond issue. 

This will be the 14th time the district has presented ballot measures for funding increases to voters in the past decade. Each of the previous attempts failed. 

“In order to make major changes in what you provide service-wise and your infrastructure, a sustainable increase on taxes is the only way to do it,” said Hayeslip. “Grants are only gonna be small amounts, they’re gonna be for specific projects and they may not be critical projects.”

Hayeslip said the district is in dire need of additional funding especially as the population in the county, and call volumes continue to increase. 

“It will fast track us to that end goal of getting a second truck staffed that’s ready and able at a moment’s notice, and having the facilities to put those people to have them ready,” said Hayeslip. 

Hayeslip has said while the county is growing, due to constraints from the Hancock Amendment, the district has been unable to raise additional funding from the increase in their tax base. 

The Hancock Amendment is a Missouri law that limits taxing entities from raising rates when valuation in their tax base increases. 

He has also said that while the district does work with a grant writer applying for grants, those applications are too volatile to be a viable solution to funding issues in the long term.

“This is sustained finances, that’s just the bottom line. This is money that we’re going to influx into our budget and it’s gonna be there year after year after year,” said Hayeslip. 

Fire Captain Jeff Dunn said the current staffing levels place significant constraints on the department’s firefighting capabilities. Hayeslip echoed those sentiments, especially during times like last week when the entire county was under a red flag warning and districts across the county were on calls. 

“The issues I see currently are obviously, staffing levels are well below what they should be at,” said Dunn. 

He went further and said that the current truck they have staffed 24/7 can fall short on even minor calls like car accidents. 

“To only have three firefighters on duty at one time, even if you’re working a traffic accident, three sets of hands isn’t enough,” said Dunn. 

The district has also relied on mutual aid agreements with nearby districts especially during calls like the fire at the Abundant Life Church property on March 18, but Dunn said that is not a tenable solution either. 

“Everytime we use mutual aid, we’re pulling away resources from their community,” said Dunn. 

Hayeslip said regardless of the results of the April 8 election, the district was going to start the process of purchasing a new fire truck. That process can take up to three years and even if the ballot measures fail again, Hayeslip hopes by the time they need to make payments on a truck, the funding is available.