The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The Oquawka Fire Protection District (OFPD) held a special hearing on December 26th to hear public comment and debate about a possible tax rate increase, followed by a special meeting to adopt the tax increase.
Present were OFPD President Harold Henshaw and OFPD Treasurer Donna Dunn. OFPD Secretary Linda Reeves was absent.
Also in attendance were three residents, including myself. Dunn provided a printout to residents outlining some things the district currently needs.
Among those are some updates for the district building, including possibly needing a new HVAC system. A reliable emergency generator and an “Extraction Washer” which is used to clean toxins off firefighters PPE are also needed.
The printout noted they have applied for grants in the past and have been awarded a USDA grant for $50,000 which was used to purchase a new air compressor and cascade system to provide clean air to firefighters. It was noted the current rate for the OFPD tax was currently just above .1% of residents assessed property value and the district would like to increase it to .2%.
When I asked if the increase was required to be on a ballot, I was informed a ballot vote is not required unless they would want to raise it above .5%.
Dunn went on to say they would be voting on the increase following the special hearing. It should be noted this increase is not an increase on your entire property tax bill but only the fire district portion.
An example was given to a resident in attendance who stated their property taxes were around $1100/year.
Dunn looked up the OFPD portion of that residents’ taxes and stated the resident paid $24/year in the past and if the tax was raised, the residents’ taxes would go up by $12.
After some more discussion, the hearing was adjourned, and the board members entered into special meeting to discuss and vote on the tax increase.
Henshaw and Dunn voted yes to increase the tax to .2%. Motion carried.