Mississippi County’s Firefighters Running Out of Money

Fire trucks and other firefighting equipment cost a lot of money, and prices are rising, so Warren County, Mississippi volunteer districts are looking to possibly seek an increase in property taxes.

“We’re getting squeezed and squeezed by costs,” said Chuck Tate, former Culkin Volunteer Fire Department chief and chairman of the department’s five-member fire protection district.

Since 1987, a 2-mill property tax has funded the Culkin, Fisher Ferry, Bovina and Eagle Lake protection districts. The tax adds $20 to tax bills for every $100,000 in assessed value for about 7,000 homes and businesses in those districts.

The money generates $175,000 that’s distributed among districts by population to fund day-to-day expenses. It supplements a one-quarter-mill tax levy that kicks in an additional $1,400 a month. Doubling the 2-mill tax would grow surpluses to replace equipment more often, officials said.

Tate said it would generate about $80,000 for the Culkin district.

“We need the extra money for air packs that date to 1992 or older. We need the extra money for nozzles and a thermal imaging camera. We need the extra money for new jackets and pants,” Tate said.

“We don’t have a landline phone at the station anymore. And we sew our own repairs to our uniforms. Right now, I do most of the sewing.”

The state-level Rural Fire Truck Acquisition Assistance Program was left unfunded during the last two sessions of the Legislature. The fund has financed about 70 percent of the cost of modern-day pumper trucks, which can reach $200,000.

The State Fire Rebate Insurance Program, which pays back fire insurance premiums each year to local governments statewide to maintain low-cost fire insurance, sent $125,893 to Warren County’s four fire protection taxing districts last year. Annual distributions must go to train personnel or buy specific, often small, equipment such as radios.

The board of supervisors may raise the fire millage up to 2 mills on its own or call an election to do so. A public hearing may be called but isn’t necessary.

Topics Mississippi