MO Residents Object to Tax for Fire Protection District

Mar. 30 -- Adair County's rural firefighters are hoping a ballot measure to create a fire protection district will give them more reliable and fairly distributed funding, but a group of citizens advocating against the proposal believe the additional taxation is too much to ask.

Sarah Crawford is the founder of "Axe the Tax Adair County" and organized the group to advocate against the proposal, which would create a fire protection district funded by property taxes rather than the current membership dues. The tax would cost citizens of rural Adair County 30 cents per 100 dollars of assessed value of their homes, land and personal property.

"I feel that it's an unfair tax, especially going after personal property," Crawford said. Though the material on the Axe the Tax Facebook page emphasizes the taxes that would be paid by large landowners in the county, Crawford is also a board member of the Greentop Volunteer Fire Association, which has in the past sued Adair County over claims that Adair County Rural Fire expanding its boundaries made it more difficult for the Greentop association.

Crawford said the fire protection district could reduce the Greentop association's revenue. Some residents who live in the overlap between the Adair County and Greentop areas can currently choose which to pay dues to, but if a tax-funded district were created, the taxes would automatically be deducted.

Crawford said the Greentop association would have to ask for donations from people who are already paying for fire protection. "If this passes, nobody would have to pay dues," Crawford said. Crawford said other Adair County residents who are against the tax have donated to pay for mailers and a billboard on Baltimore Street advertising Axe the Tax's message.

Brad Ray, the chief of the Adair Rural Fire Department, said the point of the new tax is to distribute payment more fairly. He said in the current system, people who own large land areas and expensive farm equipment pay the same amount in membership dues as people who own only a small home. "They're not going to get special treatment because they have a lot more stuff," Ray said. "It's creating a fair system for everybody." Ray said large landowners should pay more in taxes because they have the ability to do so. He said if people oppose tax cuts for billionaires, they should see this issue as the same principle on a smaller scale.

Jeff Brawner, who owns a large property in rural Adair County, said he is worried about the increase in his taxes, especially since he is expecting the valuation of his property to increase in an upcoming reassessment. Brawner said it does not make sense to him to pay a larger amount of money for the same level of fire protection. He also said he does not believe he should be taxed on the valuation of personal property like farm equipment when he already pays to insure it.

"This will gain me absolutely nothing where I live in the northwest part of the county," Brawner said. "I'm just providing fire protection for four other people who aren't paying their dues now, when I've been paying mine for nearly 40 years." Ray said some landowners have also incorrectly calculated the amount of tax they would need to pay if the proposal passed. He said the easiest way to find the correct number is to double the amount a resident currently pays to fund the Adair County Library.

"I don't want more tax, but I want a steady income for fire protection in Adair County, and that's not what we have currently," Ray said. The fire protection district would include all Adair County residents who live outside of Kirksville, Greentop or the part of the La Plata Fire Protection District that extends into Adair County. Crawford said she does not think this would offer adequate protection since the Greentop Fire Department does not have a mutual agreement with rural Adair County firefighters.

Crawford said the membership system has worked well for Adair County and that the department's ability to charge a resident who has not paid their membership dues when they respond to a fire or other emergency can provide additional funding. "I don't see why it would not continue working," Crawford said.

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