Tax funds big boost to fire efforts
For the
EC Fire Chief
"We've already bought this one," Stewart said about the new pumper truck. "It's just a matter of paying for it.
"This is just the agreement that this is going to be paid for from the county sales tax."
Hopes are to get the truck paid off quickly allowing for Stewart and his guys to turn their attention to an ongoing effort to get a new building for EC's fire station.
The 1993 model truck is used but low mileage and fully equipped. Funding to pay the price tag of around
The consensus appears to be the tax passed by voters three years ago is having just the impact intended.
Put simply, each of the fire departments looks to be benefiting in a big way from the boost this tax funding has provided.
"We used to have large fires,"
"Now we have smaller fires because of the way you guys respond these days," he said, referring to firefighters.
The conclusion by the commissioner and others -- the fire departments in the county, most manned by volunteers, are getting better equipped because of the way the money is being used from the tax.
In fact, there are some who believe that with all the fire department upgrades being made from the tax funding it could move some towns toward a chance to improve their ISO fire protection ratings.
What that means is the possibility of property owners in and around those towns saving money with the insurance premiums they pay.
"The fire departments have a lot better equipment these days and they get to the fires faster," said
"The response time is much quicker and that makes a big difference."
----Stewart is also hoping to clear up some confusion that apparently came from a past article published in the PV Democrat.
It was back in late August when all three commissioners denied a request by Stewart to use some of that fire tax money to pay for materials going out to local children during fire prevention week, which happens to be this week.
A reference back then was on other requests also turned down in the past.
Stewart lets out a little laugh when he thinks about some people reading the article who concluded all those requests came from him.
The fact is the requests came from various fire departments in the county over a period of time.
"People have been asking me why I tried to buy stuff I can't get," Stewart said about the old newspaper story.
"I had a bunch of people ask me about it. They read it and assumed it was my stuff and it wasn't ours. It was from other departments."
Commissioners have said they believe these tax funds should only be used for the maintenance and operation of the fire departments in the county.
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(c)2015 the Pauls Valley Daily Democrat (Pauls Valley, Okla.)
Visit the Pauls Valley Daily Democrat (Pauls Valley, Okla.) at www.paulsvalleydailydemocrat.com
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