10/24/2026
🚒 SARCOXIE RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT – IMPORTANT COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT 🚒
Our Community. Our Fire Department. Our Future.
The Sarcoxie Rural Fire Protection District would like to inform our residents about an important tax proposal that will appear on the upcoming ballot.
Like many rural fire departments, we are facing significant challenges. Finding and retaining volunteer firefighters has become increasingly difficult, while the costs of firefighting equipment, protective gear, apparatus, and daily operations continue to rise.
Our firefighters remain dedicated to protecting this community, but providing emergency services with limited staffing and aging equipment presents challenges.
🚨 WHAT WOULD THE PROPOSED TAX INCREASE PROVIDE?
The proposal would authorize an additional property tax of up to $0.25 per $100 of assessed valuation.
If approved, the additional funding would help the district:
✅ Provide one paid firefighter for 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, helping address daytime staffing shortages.
✅ Maintain and replace aging firefighting equipment and apparatus.
✅ Purchase necessary protective equipment and safety gear for our firefighters.
✅ Help cover the increasing costs of maintaining and operating our fire department.
🚒 OUR AGING EQUIPMENT – A GROWING CONCERN
One of the major challenges facing our department is the age of our firefighting apparatus.
Our district currently operates a 1982 fire tanker that is now 44 years old and will need to be replaced.
Replacing this tanker with a newer, used apparatus could cost up to $200,000.
For a rural fire protection district like ours, a tanker is an essential piece of equipment. Many of the areas we protect do not have access to municipal fire hydrants. When a structure fire occurs in these areas, firefighters must transport water to the scene using tanker trucks.
Without a reliable tanker, maintaining an adequate water supply during a fire becomes much more difficult.
This is just one example of the major expenses rural fire departments face while working to provide dependable emergency services.
👨🚒 WHY IS PAID DAYTIME STAFFING IMPORTANT?
Our department depends heavily on dedicated volunteers who give their time to protect our community.
Unfortunately, many volunteers work full-time jobs, often outside our district, making it increasingly difficult to maintain consistent daytime availability.
With the proposed additional funding, our district plans to staff one paid firefighter for 8 hours each day, 7 days a week.
This would provide a consistent staff member to begin responding to emergencies, assist with apparatus and equipment readiness, and support our volunteer firefighters.
Our volunteers would remain an essential part of the department.
💰 WHAT WOULD THIS COST PROPERTY OWNERS?
The proposed increase would be based on assessed property value, not market value.
At the maximum proposed rate, the additional annual tax for residential property would be approximately:
* $100,000 home: $47.50 per year
* $150,000 home: $71.25 per year
* $200,000 home: $95.00 per year
These examples use Missouri’s 19% residential assessment rate and reflect only the proposed additional tax.
❤️ OUR COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY
The Sarcoxie Rural Fire Protection District is committed to providing fire protection and emergency services to the residents we serve.
As equipment continues to age, operational costs increase, and volunteer availability becomes more challenging, we must plan for the future of our department.
We want our residents to understand the challenges we face, how the proposed funding would be used, and what the measure would mean for property owners.
We encourage everyone to ask questions, learn about the proposal, and participate in the upcoming election.
Thank you for your continued support of the Sarcoxie Rural Fire Protection District and the men and women who serve our community.
