Wright City Fire Protection District hosted community members June 27 to answer questions about a proposed property tax increase.The Wright City fire district is one of several in the area asking voters to raise taxes this August. The district is seeking an increase of 34 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation. The issue will be decided by voters Aug. 7.This follows two failed ballot initiatives in April, in which the fire district request a 34-cent tax hike and a $7 million bond issue. District leaders said they heard the strong feedback from voters in April, and have scaled back their request to include just the tax increase.Chief Ron MacKnight said the fire district’s board of directors feels a tax increase is critical to continue operations. The main objectives for the funding is to preserve the jobs of six firefighters and replace vital equipment and vehicles, he said.“We felt this was the best use of tax dollars, and would still get us the same result, but would take us a lot longer to do it,” MacKnight said.Opponents of the previous tax proposals criticized the fire district for asking for too large of a raise at once, along with questioning several practices of the of district.MacKnight addressed several of those topics with the public.Tax increaseWright City Fire’s current tax levy is 41.27 cents per $100 assessed valuation. The tax increase would bring that number up to 75.27 cents per $100 valuation.The last tax increase for the district was a 15-cent raise in 2002.If the tax proposal is approved, the additional cost to the owner of a $100,000 home would be about $65 per year. For a $200,000 home, the added cost would be about $129 per year.The fire district has a calculator on its website, www.wrightcityfire.com, that shows what the tax increase would cost for specific home values.The tax increase would bring in an estimated $700,000 in added revenue for the fire district.Six firefightersSix firefighters were hired in 2016 using a federal grant that expires early next year, Mac-Knight said. He added that the fire district isn’t eligible to renew that grant.The chief said keeping those firefighters on staff is important because it means there are four professional firefighters on duty at all times. Without the funding, the district will go back to having a minimum of only two firefighters per shift, Mac-Knight said.Wright City firefighters also receive relatively low pay, starting at about $28,000 per year, the chief said.Audience members at the public meeting pointed out that the Wright City area has historically relied on volunteer firefighters. MacKnight replied that the number of volunteers has been falling nationwide.“I don’t know what (exactly) it has to do with. In my opinion, it has to do with the 300 hours of training we ask of them up front, and then the requirements to stay proficient in their skills of actually going into a burning building,” MacKnight said.Outdated equipmentWright City Fire District is facing major expenses to replace outdated equipment, MacKnight said. That includes an anticipated $200,000 for radio equipment and $360,000 for breathing air tanks.He explained that the district can no longer order replacement radios or parts from their original manufacturer.“We’re having to go to eBay to piece these things together,” MacKnight said.The air tanks will reach the end of their service life in 2020, and cost $10,000 each to replace 36 tanks. Wright City Fire and Warrenton Fire Protection District are currently pursuing a joint grant to replace their breathing equipment.There also is at least $100,000 in building maintenance that the district has been putting off, the chief added.Replacing vehiclesThe fire district has a long-term plan to replace three of its vehicles. It already has a contract to purchase a new fire engine to replace the district’s oldest truck, which is from 1985.Payments for the new truck will probably be around $90,000 per year, MacKnight said.The district has an annual budget for such truck payments. It recently finished paying about $77,000 per year for its newest engine, a 2009.Leading up to the April election, opponents of the tax increase heavily criticized the fire district for a recent separate purchase of a ladder truck. They asked why the district wanted more money for vehicles if it could afford to buy a new one.MacKnight clarified that the ladder truck was used and only cost a total of $20,000. He also said that truck had spent the last week in the shop.Medical callsAnother source of controversy for Wright City Fire is its 2017 decision to begin responding to life-threatening medical calls. (Warrenton Fire began responding to medical calls at that time as well.)“There’s a number of reasons we go. The more hands on someone in cardiac arrest, the better patient outcome,” Mac-Knight explained. “Sometimes we beat the ambulance (to a call), and we can start lifesaving care.”Criticism of that decision is based on the increased cost and call load for firefighters. Every time a fire truck leaves the station, it uses gas and puts wear and tear on the vehicle.But one local resident said cost doesn’t matter in an emergency. Jeanne Malinowski said her husband, who has difficulty breathing, was helped several times by both fire and EMS staff when they lived in Lake St. Louis.“When you have a relative that you need to have immediate (emergency care) for, I don’t care how many trucks come to my house, if they’re going to save him and get him to a hospital,” Malinowski said.Other districts seeking taxesWright City Fire isn’t the only fire district to seek a tax increase in the Aug. 7 elections. Warrenton Fire Protection District is asking for voters to approve a 37-cent tax increase, and Hawk Point Fire Protection District is asking for a $1 million bond issue.Warrenton Fire’s tax proposal also has staffing as a major motivator. Chief Mike Owenby previously told The Record that the district wants to hire three more professional firefighters per shift.Hawk Point is seeking the bond issue to pay for three fire vehicles and two sets of rescue equipment. Chief Mark Seigler said a 17-cent tax hike would be used to pay off the bonds, which are a form of loan.Wright City Fire Protection District logo