Question 1 property tax measure aims to improve Central Lyon firefighter, paramedic response times
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Fri, 10/14/2022 - 1:00pm
On Nov. 8, voters in Lyon County will decide on county Question 1 which would change two existing fire stations currently staffed with volunteers into full-time staffed firefighters-paramedics stations in the Central Lyon County Fire Protection District. The measure is designed to improve response times within the district.
The CLCFPD, which serves all of Dayton as well as Mound House, Silver City, Stagecoach and Silver Springs, covers more than 640 square miles and provides fire protection and emergency medical services to a growing population of nearly 32,000. The fire district includes 7 fire stations within Lyon County, which grew in population by almost 3% last year and has seen ground break for several new housing projects in the last few years.
CLCFPD Chief Rich Harvey said passing the measure is important. “It’s absolutely necessary to provide basic emergency services to the entire community. We want to serve everybody’s need.”
If approved, the measure would increase the number of full-time fire stations in the district from two to four by changing current staffing to career firefighters-paramedics at the Silver Springs station and the Dayton Valley Road station, one of 3 in Dayton.
In support of Question 1, the CLCFPD cited a need for faster response times during a time of increased calls for service. Last year, the district responded to 4,200 calls, according to centrallyonfirefighters.com, an increase of 30 percent in the past 10 years. Emergency services, including fire and emergency medical, use average response times to help create strategies to improve efficiency in emergency response.
A measure of the time between a 911 call to arrival on scene, the average response times for the CLCFPD is more than 12 minutes per call, Harvey said. The national standard is 10 minutes. “I’m confident this question will allow us to meet this standard,” he said.
In addition, firefighters and paramedics in the district, which was formed 50 years ago, cover a geographical area spanning more than 640 square miles in response to emergencies. “Sometimes it’s a long time to get there,” Harvey said. Having more full-time staffed stations would help to deal with the large area, he said.
If approved by voters, Question 1 would levy property tax of $0.23 per $100 of assessed property valuation upon all property owners within CLCFPD boundaries for up to 30 years. The measure would add an estimated $80.50 per year in taxes for the owner of a new home with a county assessor's taxable value of $100,000.
Arguments against the measure favor more aggressive recruitment efforts and support for volunteers which they say can be used instead of hiring more full-time firefighters-paramedics. Some opponents of the measure dislike raising taxes when volunteers can be moved around to keep the stations adequately staffed.
Debbie Conde of Dayton is against the measure because of the increased tax burden for homeowners.
“I would like an accounting of where the existing taxes go before I throw more money into that hat,” she said. “One of the reasons we retire in Nevada is due to better tax structure.”
Her concern was shared by R. Leach, also of Dayton, who lives on a fixed income like many seniors. “We have adequate fire protection in our area. In a period of inflation, I am not interested in a tax increase,” he said.
Harvey said the district will continue to utilize volunteers to help staff fire stations. But he cited a smaller pool of available volunteers as one of the reasons to support the measure. “Twenty years ago we had 100 volunteers, now we have 21. At the end of the day, volunteers are an integral part of our department. We are always open to volunteers and we are not moving away from being a combo department.” CLCFPD is staffed by a combination of paid and volunteer fire and emergency medical personnel, sometimes referred to as a combo system, a model used in many fire districts within the United States.
Harvey stressed that approving the measure is a way to ensure quicker response times to help maintain public safety in the community. “We need this ballot measure to pass to have 50 more years of serving central Lyon County,” he said.
