Bayou Cane Fire Department seeks tax hike

Sept. 20--On Oct. 14, voters in the Bayou Cane Fire District will head to the polls to decide on two new property taxes to help generate money for department would use to hire new workers and improve its training facilities.

Approved by the Terrebonne Parish Council in April, Bayou Cane's first proposal on the ballot is a 10-mill property tax increase to hire 12 additional firefighters and purchase new equipment.

The second measure is a proposed 2-mill tax that will be used to pay off a $5.5 million bond the fire district will use to upgrade its training facility and classroom, buy a new fire truck and conduct repairs and renovations.

The first proposition would expire after 20 years, and the second measure would last for the time it takes to pay off the bonds, the department said.

The fully career-staffed and non-union fire department currently protects more than 30,000 residents in an area of 31 square miles. As prices increase, such services don't come cheap, Fire Chief Ken Himel said.

"The biggest reason why these proposals are important for us is that the price of everything goes up based on industry cost," Himel said. "The cost just associated with employing and outfitting firefighters by itself goes up by 5 percent a year. The cost of a firetruck is 8-10 percent higher in 2019."

The average cost of a fire engine in 2008 was about $426,000, but in 2017 that cost has jumped 55 percent to $660,875, Himel said.

Himel said the current property tax rate is not sufficient to pay for the department's current level of service. The department responds to more than 1,800 incidents per year for an average of 150 per month.

"When we last asked for a millage increase, one of the things we told people was that it could impact our rating, and it did," Himel said. "We went from a Class 2 to a Class 3 fire department. We absolutely feel without a doubt that by making these additional hires, our rating would go back to a Class 2."

The Property Insurance Association of Louisiana ranks fire departments on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best. Factors that contribute to the rating include communications, response times, water supply, training hours, equipment and station locations.

"I know these aren't the best times in the world," Himel said. "Nobody likes taxes and we understand that. But it's our only alternative other than to reduce what it is we already have. We're trying to stay ahead of the game. If we don't change our funding source, things are going to start changing around here, and that's something we don't want to do. We don't want to cut down on the level of services we're providing."

Assistant Chief Kenny Hill said the only way the department can maintain its services is with additional money.

"As a department, we're pretty strapped right now, and we've been stretching the money that we currently have," Hill said. "At the end of the day, this is about allowing firefighters to do their job and protect the public safely and efficiently. Two guys showing up to a fire in a truck initially have a harder time without having more manpower. With this, we would be able to add more people to each truck."

If passed, the 10-mill property tax would cost the owner of a $150,000 home $75 each year. The 2-mill tax would cost the same homeowner $15 a year.

Early voting begins Sept. 30.

--Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 857-2202 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter@DanVCopp.

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