BENTONVILLE -- Pete Rathmell knows the Northeast Benton County Volunteer Fire Department needs new equipment. He wrote the grant applications for much of the aging gear.
Rathmell, who also served as a volunteer firefighter for the department for six years, said the department needs a dues increase to update equipment and maintain a level of service residents of the sprawling fire district have come to expect.
A special election to increase fire dues is set for July 9. It would be the first increase for the department in 20 years if approved by voters, Chief Rob Taylor said. A rate increase would help the district hire two firefighters who would work either 12- or 24-hour shifts, Taylor said.
The price of fire equipment continues to increase, he said.
The fire board decided Tuesday to hold town halls to advocate for the fee increase.
"It's terribly needed," Taylor said of the increase. "The proposed rates, Taylor said, would be:
• $84 a year for structures less than $100,000 in value, an increase of $44 over the current rate of $40.
• $154 a year for structures valued $100,001 to $300,000, an increase of $79, up from $75.
• $244 a year for structures of more than $300,001 in value, an increase of $124, up from $120.
The increased fee would start to be collected in 2020 if approved by voters this summer, he said.
The membership fee brought in $168,500 last year, $167,000 in 2017 and $164,000 in 2016, Taylor said. The increased fees could bring in an additional $190,000 in the first year, he said.
The fire district has a participation rate of about 96% of eligible residents, board Chairman Dean Adair told justices of the peace April 16. Residents who don't pay the dues are billed if the department goes to their home, Taylor said.
The department covers an 84-square-mile district where the population has grown to about 5,000 people, said Taylor, who has been the fire chief since 2002. It had two stations and four trucks when he started in 1984.
The department has 22 volunteer firefighters and five stations with two trucks each, Taylor said. The department also has two, full-time, paid EMS positions and 25 part-time emergency medical service spots, he said.
Metro on 06/03/2019