Prop. FIRE: Protect Quality Emergency Services

November 5 ballot proposal to secure the future of Cottleville Fire Protection District, keep community and first responders safe.

Proposition FIRE is an operating rate question on the Nov. 5 election ballot. The Cottleville Fire Protection District (CFPD) Board of Directors placed the measure on the ballot to protect the quality and sustainability of emergency services in the District and address the combination of rising costs and revenue limitations.

CFPD serves 38 square miles of St. Charles County, protecting all or portions of five municipalities including the cities of Cottleville, Weldon Spring, Dardenne Prairie, St. Peters, and O’Fallon. In the last 20 years, Cottleville Fire’s community population has almost tripled. Call volume has increased 49% in the last 10 years to a projection of more than 4,600 calls for assistance in 2024. In the last year alone, the call volume rose by 12%.

Through sound fiscal management, the fire district has risen to meet the demands of its growing community, but tax revenues have reached a point where the District can no longer keep up. The state’s Hancock Amendment and Missouri’s Senior Citizen Real Estate Property Tax Relief Program both limit the revenue Cottleville Fire has to address rising costs. Prop. FIRE enables the District to proactively address the decrease in revenue caused by Missouri’s new legislation and maintain the level of emergency services the community needs to stay safe.

If approved, the measure will provide funding to protect the District’s emergency services and enable the CFPD to:

  • Maintain the level of emergency services and response times currently provided,
  • Continue to hire and retain highly qualified firefighters,
  • Maintain and provide up-to-date equipment and gear for EMS, firefighting and rescue,
  • Replace firefighter gear that contains coatings now linked to cancer, and
  • Maintain training opportunities to keep our firefighters and community safe in ever-changing emergency situations.

Prop. FIRE includes a 12-cent operating tax rate increase, which would cost the owner of a home valued at $300,000 less than $6 per month (or about $2 per month for every $100,000 of home value).

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

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Contact the District at sstephens@cottlevillefpd.org or 636-447-6655 ext. 8700.
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