Voters Provide $19.4 M to Metro West Fire Protection
Metro West Fire Protection District got a financial boost from voters in Tuesday evening's election. The last bond measure passed for the district was in 2003.
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Chris Thiemann, a fire inspector with Metro West Fire Protection District, took a day of vacation from work Tuesday to promote a yes vote at polling places for Proposition L. His personal commitment paid off.
Proposition L passed—
YES . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,016 votes, 63.52 percent
NO. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,455 votes, 36.48 percent
Thiemann said several voters asked him prior to voting about the proposition as he worked the polling place at Starbridge Christian Center in Wildwood starting at 11 a.m., especially about what the money exactly would be used. By 1:15 p.m., he said the majority of people told him when leaving the polls they had supported the measure.
Proposition L approved for the Metro West Fire Protection District a $19.4 million "no-tax increase bond issue" to be used to replace equipment, including ambulances and pumper trucks, near the end of their lifespans, according to district spokespeople. Also planned are renovations for four of the district’s five stations, including the two located in Wildwood. The four facilities were each built between 15 and 32 years ago. The remainder of the potential Proposition L funding would be allocated to three categories: replacing firefighters' equipment, technology upgrades and community education programs.
See Patch article: Metro West Voters Asked to Approve Bond Issue
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In This article
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Metro West Fire Protection District
17065 Manchester Rd, Wildwood, MO -
Wildwood City Hall
16860 Main St, Wildwood, MO -
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Starbridge Christian Center
18820 Highway 100, Pacific, MO
Ted Crabtree
8:05 am on Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Too bad there wasn't an organized opposition to this tax increase like there was against the Rockwood vote. This is a tax increase, because our taxes would have went down when the earlier bonds are retired.
According to the Post-Dispatch, in the Metro West district, the average salary for 15-year vets is $99,623. Benefits are worth another $37,374, and firefighters get 10 to 12 weeks of vacation and sick leave. How about asking these guys to take a pay cut to fund their improvements? These guys are getting paid astronomical salaries in a very low risk firefighting area. Many people have the false impression that firefighters are low paid civil servants working a dangerous job. That's not the case in St. Louis County fire protection districts like Metro West. Check out the Metro West Salary database (keep in mind these are 2009 salaries, I can only imagine how high they are three years later): http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/stl-info/fire-protection-district-employee-payrolls/html_216d56a2-8099-11df-bee7-00127992bc8b.html?appSession=41835706820860&RecordID=&PageID=2&PrevPageID=2
Now look at the firefighter salaries from Crestwood. It looks like we are paying way too much for the services we are receiving from Metro West: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/stl-info/crestwood-city-employee-payroll/html_4bfd910c-a0b0-11df-b7c5-00127992bc8b.html?appSession=86236255633379