Tax Failure Worries Firefighters

A tax hike to help fire departments goes up in flames.  By a two to one margin, voters rejected a tax hike that would have provided funding to rural and volunteer departments across Rogers County.  News On 6 anchor Craig Day reports on where that leaves those departments struggling to keep up with rising costs.

Staggering diesel costs, training, replacing old equipment.  Those rural departments had a lot of needs for the additional tax money, but many voters decided enough is already coming out of their pocketbooks.

The quarter cent sales tax before voters would have benefited 10 rural and volunteer departments all over Rogers County.  The four year tax was expected to bring in $160,000 for each of those departments each year.

Fire Chief David Puckett of the Northwest Rogers County Fire District had hoped to use the money for training and to replace an old fire truck.

"It's sitting here out of service because we cannot pump water with this truck," said Fire Chief David Puckett.

The things on his list will have to wait after voters soundly defeated the tax proposal by a two to one margin.

With household budgets stretched thin, Puckett isn't surprised voters defeated the tax increase, but he is disappointed.  He says additional funding is needed to keep up with rising costs.

"Last year, we paid $2.19 a gallon for diesel.  Right now we're paying $4.59 a gallon," said Fire Chief David Puckett.

Despite the financial challenges, the Northwest Rogers County Fire District can weather the rising costs a little bit better than many other much smaller departments because they have a guaranteed source of revenue.  But, many smaller departments in smaller districts rely exclusively on memberships and fundraisers.

Without additional funds, those departments will have to scale back dramatically.

"We'll have to merge together and help each other that way or eventually you'll start seeing smaller departments start shutting down across the state, not just here in Rogers County, but the whole state," said Fire Chief David Puckett.

Puckett hopes it doesn't come to that.

For now, fire chiefs will manage as best they can, and go back to the drawing board to find a solution.

"We'll look for something else.  We'll make it happen.  We always have and we always will. We'll make it happen," said Fire Chief David Puckett.

Some fire chiefs think the funding problem may come down to getting help in the state legislature.  They hope the state can step in and provide more funding, maybe from the rainy day fund, to help rural departments, either to offset the high cost of fuel or to pay for training for firefighters.

For more on Tuesday's election, click here.