Bossier City police, fire departments launch campaign for tax renewal - 04/12/00 - By Teri Bailey - The Times - Photo By Amy Beth Bennett - The Times
Photo Caption - Firefighter-paramedic John Woodfin (from left), from Station 6, training officer Don Taylor and firefighter Mike Montgomery, from Station 8, watch water spraying from the ladder of the truck as Woodfin makes sure the proper water pressure is applied.
Bossier City fire and police personnel are gearing up for the campaign of their lives, or at least, their jobs. In about three months, voters will be asked to renew a 10-year, 6-mill property tax the city uses to operate and support its police and fire departments. Salaries and overtime pay are in the mix. The ballot item -- set for July 15 -- will be the first renewal since voters approved the tax in 1991.
The more than $1.5 million taxpayers generate is critical to the city's two fastest-growing departments, their chiefs say. A homeowner with a $100,000 home pays $60 annually. But for the money, they say, safety in the city has increased. Without that money, improvement plans would screech to a halt. "If this were not renewed, it would pretty well devastate both departments," Fire Chief Donnie Faith said. "Both of us are trying to grow our departments and play a little catch-up with the growth we've seen. Without the tax, we'd have to cut service somewhere, and that's the wrong direction to go."
A north Bossier City fire station -- and the 15 people to staff it -- are in the works, while the Police Department two weeks ago added 10 new officers to the streets. A new policing system began Jan. 1. With that and stepped-up training sessions, Police Chief Danny Dison sees a world of good riding on the renewal.
He also knows it's not the only item on the July ballot. A sales tax proposal -- to help expand the Bossier Parish Courthouse in Benton -- is a new tax idea that has garnered some anti-tax sentiment. The key, Dison said, will be public-awareness campaigns that emphasize "renewal" and explains the history of their tax and what it does.
"There's a feeling out there that the city has millions of dollars and is very well-off. I'm not saying that's not so, but that's not for me to decide how it all gets used," Dison said. "I am to oversee my budget, and that millage is a vital part of my budget. "There's no way we could take $750,000 out of our budget and still operate as we do."
South Bossier City resident Ken Prim appreciates police cars in his neighborhood. And he feels more secure with a fire station nearby. His River Bend subdivision, on the outskirts of the city, is served by one of two fire stations that sends a paramedic on every call. The system allows crews to offer critical life support even before an ambulance arrives. "I don't like taxes any more than anyone else does, but if that's what it takes to continue the service we have, then I'll support it," Prim said. "We need to double the amount of patrol cars on the streets. That way, we keep crime down."
About 110 homes make up River Bend. When paramedic John Woodfin joined the Fire Department six years ago, one less ambulance combed the streets. The tax means not only job security but assurance that upgrades will continue. "We're enhancing things every day," he said. "We're doing more training, getting more educated. And if this didn't pass, everything would come to a standstill."
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