CAMDENTON, Mo. (KY3) – Voters in Camden County passed a ballot measure that would raise personal and property taxes by 15 cents and use the extra funds to hire full-time firefighters in the Mid-County Fire Protection District.

The first question, which passed with 224 votes, would increase the tax to about $27 annually for every $100,000 of your home’s value. This is similar to a ballot question that passed in 2018, but it took about five or six tries to pass. The funding will go toward hiring an additional nine firefighters for an already busy fire protection district, according to the Mid-County fire chief.

“We’re a mixed department, we still have volunteers,” said Chief Scott Frandsen of the Mid-County Fire Protection District. “We have about 25-30 volunteers and we rely on them very much. But our call volume increased so much that you, as a volunteer, could not do this.”

According to Frandsen, the area receives about seven calls every day. In 2023, the department responded to approximately 2,400 calls and is on track to reach the same number this year. But even with full-time firefighters and volunteers available, Frandsen said managing the 230 square miles isn’t easy and response times aren’t ideal.

“They have to get up, get dressed, get in their vehicle, drive to the fire station, then grab the apparatus and go to the call,” Frandsen said. “Whereas, our paid employees stay with the fire trucks and the trucks hit the road immediately.”

The Central County fire issue wasn’t the only measure up for a vote this year, either. On the August primary ballot was a bond issue to replace two existing fire stations. A majority of voters voted in favor, but the bond ultimately did not pass because it failed to reach a four-sevenths majority, according to Frandsen.

“The biggest problem we have right now is that in a lot of areas that need manpower, we don’t have the space to house them, so we’ll deal with that at some point,” he said. Frandsen. “The Roach area, which is the western part of our fire zone, is actually our third major response area, so the next firefighter would probably need to be sent out, but we don’t have the space to accommodate them.”

Frandsen said the long-term goal is to build new and additional fire stations in the area.

“Any increase in property or personal property taxes is a tough sell,” Frandsen said. “We’re trying to be good stewards of tax money.”

The tax increase will take effect in 2026.

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