• Proposition Fire and Life Safety

  • This April, you will see “Proposition Fire and Life Safety” on the ballot. This measure is asking for a 25-cent property tax increase on every $100 assessed valuation from our citizens in our jurisdiction.

    Monday, February 3rd at 6pm will be our first open public meeting. Located at 711 State Highway Z.

    Our current tax rate is 30 cents and this is the first property tax increase we have asked for since forming the district in 1993.

    Passing this increase will provide the funding for us to purchase a tanker/pumper apparatus, purchase a brush apparatus, update facilities and purchase life saving EMS and Fire equipment to work toward improving our district ISO rating, in which could lower insurance premium costs for our residents.

    What passing this increase would mean:

    • Placing an up to date and dependable tanker/pumper in service allowing for better fire protection services offered. With our district depending on us hauling water to a fire scene plus having equipment on board, this all-in-one truck is critical. Our oldest tanker truck is a farm built manual 1994 apparatus that is not dependable and currently leaking water.

    • Placing an up to date and dependable brush apparatus in service allowing for better fire protection services during a brush or grass fire incidents. Our current brush truck is a 1993 Ford F-350 and is not dependable with potential high maintenance costs.
    • Updating our facilities to allow them to be more functional for our district members. Our newest fire station, Station 1, is already almost 15 years old and along with Station 2 they are in both need of improvements. Station 3 is in need of a whole new structure.

    • Allow our district to purchase much needed new and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) certified fire equipment as well as new EMS equipment. With as many job duties that comes with being a first responder also comes the expense of being able to fund those job duties. EMS and Fire equipment are highly expensive to fund and with our equipment being older and out of current standard it is time to replace. The cost to outfit a single firefighter for a fire is over $10,000. The cost for ALS equipment/supplies that we would bring to a 911 emergency at your house for Advanced Cardiac Care is over $50,000.

    • Improve overall response and safety to the community and firefighters.

    • How fast does fire develop? Slow developing fires – Double in size every 120 seconds Medium developing fires – Double in size every 60 seconds Fast developing fires – Double in size every 30 seconds Ultra-fast developing fires – Double in size every 15 seconds.
    • Our members provide Emergency Medical Services to our district residents making it critical for patient care. The County Ambulance Service has an average of 18-minute response time to our district residents before they arrive on scene.
    • Working toward improving our district ISO rating, in which could lower insurance premium costs for our residents.


    Your elected board of directors, firefighters and chiefs have worked diligently over the last 32 years to keep a balanced budget, apply for grants and provide the best service, training and equipment possible with the funds allowed. However, as the community grows and our service gets busier, we are being overwhelmed with our maintenance costs, facility needs, and demands that come from providing the services.

    To find out our proposed tax increase based on your value, Take the assessed value of your property or real estate % 100 x .55. Assessed value is a value set by the county and not the same as market value.

    The Chief Officers and the Elected Fire Board would love to answer any questions you may have about the proposition.

    Additional public meeting dates and times will be announced at a later time. Message us directly on our Facebook page or email the fire chief at chief@gordonvillefiredistrict.com.

    Any news media, organization, or HOA’s that are interested in having our department talk with you or visiting you is welcome to also reach out.  

    What does it cost you?

    The proposed tax increase will be .55 cents on ever $100 of assessed value, not the market value. So, let’s talk about how that works for those that do not know.

    • Every odd numbered year the county assessor will determine the market value of your home or property. You pay a tax on a percentage of this value. These percentages vary depending if it is a home, agricultural or a commercial property. We are going to use home value for the explanation which is 19%.

    • If your homes value is $100,000 that means your assessed value is $19,000. This is the amount you will be taxed on. Take that $19,000 and divide it by 100 and then multiply it by $00.55. This gives us a total of $104.50 per year or about $8.70 per month for every $100,000 of your home value.

      • Home Value $100,000. = $104.50 per year or $8.70 per month.
      • Home Value $200,000. = $209.00 per year or $17.41 per month.
      • Home Value $300,000. = $313.50 per year or $26.125 per month.

    (These would be the approximate  whole valve using the new tax rate if passed!)

    Residential 19%, Agriculture 12%, Commercial 32%

    Source: Missouri Tax Commission (www.stc.mo.gov)