The cost of fire protection

Several residents attended the Midway Fire District Commissioners monthly meeting Dec. 13 to question the upcoming referendum to raise the district's tax rate.

The referendum in January will ask residents to allow the board of commissioners to raise the district's taxing rate by no more than .2 mills cap per year to maintain the current level of services. Residents said they weren't against a one-time increase but were concerned about the mill rate increasing every year for 10 years.

Soundside Drive resident Don Sadler said he appreciated the commissioners' commitment to cutting costs. However, he said he couldn't afford for his fire protection fee to increase every year because he is retired on a fixed income. He only paid $85 a year for fire protection when he moved to the area in 1998 and right now he pays $620 a year. If the rate is increased by 0.2 mills every year, he said he would be paying $1,000 by 2017.

"Other counties raise hell when theirs goes up $10," he said. "I'm reluctant to vote for this referendum."

Board Chairman Dave Szymanski told residents that the intension of the referendum was not to increase the mill rate every year.

For more on this story, see the Dec. 22 issue of Navarre Press or subscribe online.