Fire, Chaffee chiefs make pitch for sales tax

Fort Smith Fire Chief Mike Richards voiced his support of the existing 1% tax, up for renewal March 13, and warned that failure to approve would almost certainly jeopardize the Fort Smith Fire Department’s (FSFD) Class 2 ISO rating Thursday night (Jan. 19) at the Fire Station 1 Open House on North 5th Street.

The Insurance Services Office (ISO) reviewed various aspects of the FSFD in 2010 and found that, “unless deficiencies are addressed in the next two years, we will be unable to maintain our Class 2 rating. This will result in higher property insurance premiums for citizens and businesses,” Richards said, adding that another ISO review will likely return to the area in the fall of 2013.

(The 2010 study scored the FSFD at 80.28. Dropping below 80 would send the fire department into Class 3.)

Exactly how much more this will mean in premiums depends on a variety of factors, added Gene Nelson of the Nelson Insurance Agency, Inc. Nelson helped the fire department conduct a survey of homes in the $150,000, $250,000, and $450,000, ranges and found the following:
• Not taking any other factors, such as smoke detectors, auto/home discounts, burglar alarms, credit history, and loss history (filed claims) into consideration, a loss of the Class 2 ISO rating for the fire department would result in $30-$50 more per year for the low-end homes and $80-$200 per year for the high end.
• Owners of $250,000 homes could expect $50-$80 more in annual premiums.
• With the additional factors, these numbers could change for better or worse, and the declassification could impact businesses even more.

To avoid the reduction, funding will hone in on three key areas: staffing, equipment, and addition of a new fire station.

Approximately 0.75% of the fire department’s tax share will build a new fire station at Chaffee Crossing (a $3 million expense), repair and improve existing stations (a $1.25 million expense), and purchase capital equipment totaling $4.3 million.

The capital equipment purchases will replace three “pumper” trucks and two “ladder” trucks. (A pumper and crew act as a first responder to an emergency. A ladder is required at fully involved structure fires, Richards explained.)

The remaining 0.25% of the tax will fund 12 additional firefighters to meet minimum staffing requirements. It would also help with operation and maintenance of the fire stations and result in the one-time purchase of personal protective equipment to equip each of the new firefighters.

Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA) Executive Director Ivy Owen said public safety plays a large role in attracting outside industries to the area.

“When an industry comes to town, the first thing they want to know is where the nearest fire station is. The second thing they want to know is what the response time is. If it’s seven to eight minutes (the current response time to Chaffee Crossing), the city requires these companies to build retention ponds for fire protection, and that means we have to make it up to them somewhere else to overcome that cost,” Owen said.

Owen continued: “This issue is so important that we donated land to the city for the specific purpose of building a new fire station. We need this measure to pass to sustain development, so whatever you all can do to encourage people to extend this tax, please do. It means a great deal to the future of our area.”