Rocky Branch Eyes Collection Changes

BENTONVILLE -- It's been quiet as election day draws near for the Rocky Branch Fire Protection Association. Chief Jerry Oliver hopes that's a sign of support.

"There's not been a whole lot of talk about it," Oliver said last week. "I've had a few people who have had questions, but when we've talked they seem to be satisfied. We don't seem to be getting a big wave of opposition."

At A Glance

Election Day

Residents of the Rocky Branch Fire Protection Association District will go to the polls Tuesday to vote on a proposal to place the association’s annual dues on the property tax statements of residences and businesses. Voting will take place at Bland Chapel, 8530 Twin Coves Road in Rogers.

Source: Benton County Election Commission

The Fire Department wants district residents to support a change in how annual dues are collected. The district's dues will be placed on property tax statements and collected by the county if voters approve Tuesday's ballot initiative. Early voting ends today.

The department assesses residences a $75 annual fee and charges businesses a $100 annual fee. There are 4,350 residences, a marina and three resorts in the district, Oliver said.

Rocky Branch, located east of Rogers, in the past sent out letters to district residences and businesses. The volunteer department's board then handled individuals checks as they came in.

"It's just a trade-off in how you pay," Oliver said. "It's no difference in how much."

The department operates on the $60,000-$70,000 a year it collects in dues, Oliver said. The department now makes annual $15,000 payments on a truck, with three more years to go to pay it off. Beyond that, the budget goes to essentials, he said.

"It's routine equipment and maintenance for the most part," Oliver said. "We replaced a tire on a tender the other day and it cost us $800. The money goes toward all of our bills, water, gas, electricity, telephone and communication services. We're really not going to be getting anything new if this is approved."

Marc Trollinger, Benton County fire marshal and chief of the Hickory Creek Fire Department, said several county fire departments have obtained voter approval to have dues placed on property tax statements.

"Essentially, when the dues are collected by the departments they typically get from 50 percent to 75 percent of the dues," he said. "By getting the dues on the tax statements that can go up to between 95 percent and 100 percent. We're ail operating on very limited budget so every bit helps."

Volunteer fire departments have regular expenses they can plan for and other expenses that come up unexpectedly, Trollinger said.

"Things like fuel and utilities affect all fire departments," he said. "The departments around here have all taken a hit these past few months because last winter propane prices shot through the roof and they have to keep the offices and the apparatus bays heated. A few departments have apparatus payments, but all of them have equipment and maintenance costs.

"A typical air pack costs about $5,500 apiece. The National Fire Protection Agency requires us to have four air packs on a truck, so that's $22,000. Turnout gear, boots, pants, jacket, helmet and all cost about $2,200 per firefighter. Then the pagers and radios each firefighter has to carry, that's another $1,500. That's what the departments are taking care of. The county doesn't budget for those costs. Most of our help is in apparatus. So that's most of a department's budget right there."

John Luther is head of Washington County's Department of Emergency Management and chief of the Wedington Fire Department. Luther said several of the smaller departments in Washington County also have taken advantage of the law that allows the departments to have their dues placed on the tax statements.

"Some of them have been doing it for four or five years and some more recently," Luther said. "So far what we've seen is it's a good way to go for those departments. It helps them gain members and it does help them collect the dues. It's a good program the state has made available."

NW News on 07/07/2014

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