Little Caillou Fire Department asks Chauvin-area voters to renew property tax

Voters in the Chauvin area will decide this month to renew a property tax for fire protection.

Fire Protection District No. 7 is asking voters on Dec. 11 to renew a 16.15-mill tax and rededicate four additional mills to pay for maintenance and operations for a total of 20.19 mills.

Fire Protection District No. 7 covers the Little Caillou Fire Department. A mill is $1 in tax levied on every $1,000 of taxable property.

In Louisiana, the first $75,000 of a home's value is tax-exempt. If approved, the tax would cost the owner of a $150,000 home with a homestead exemption $151.42 a year for 10 years.

More: Thibodaux Fire Department asks voters to renew property tax Saturday

The measure is expected to generate around $1.1 million a year for the 40-member department which includes nine full-time employees. The tax would replace the existing 16.15-mill tax that was approved in 2018, Little Caillou Fire Chief Marty Thibodeaux said.

“Every 10 years we have to get our taxes renewed,” he said. “About 15 years ago, we asked the public to set up a bond to build a new fire station and it passed. We paid it off in 15 years and now we’re asking the public to renew our 10-year millage but rededicate 4 mills to our maintenance and operations.”

Because money and manpower are scarce, Thibodeaux said it’s crucial that the tax is passed.

“We really need it because our budget has shrunk considerably as a result of the oilfield downturn in this area,” he said. “Our budget’s shrinking considerably and even this millage may not be enough to maintain what we have. If it doesn’t pass, we’re going to have to lay people off. We won’t have the money to continue to do what we’re doing. Every year we’re shrinking and have tightened every rope that we can to the point of laying people off.”

In addition to recruiting firefighters, retaining them has also been a challenge, Thibodeaux said.

“We haven’t had a new volunteer come into our department in five or six years,” he said. “There’s just so much going on in the world right now. Retention is another challenge because people who first join the fire service don’t realize how stressful it can be. Sometimes they go to a crash or a fire where a child is involved and it touches them to a point where they really don’t want to do it anymore. It haunts them.”

Also: Little Caillou Volunteer Fire Department battles marsh fire

Renewing the tax will also help the struggling department maintain its Class 3 rating with the Property Insurance Association of Louisiana, Thibodeaux said. The association ranks fire departments on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best. A better rating means lower insurance premiums for homeowners.

The department currently averages around 700 calls a year, 500 of which are related to medical issues, the chief said.

“Maintenance and operations are what this is about,” Thibodeaux said. “If this tax passes, nobody is getting a raise. We’re not trying to gain anything from it. We want to continue doing what we’re doing and providing the same service.”

— Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Little Caillou Fire Department asks voters to approve property tax