Frank Johnson Sr.
June 7, 2016Drug drop boxes newest LPSO addition
June 7, 2016
Bayou Blue voters will not only elect the next U.S. president this November, they will also decide whether to raise taxes for their local fire department.
The Bayou Blue Fire Protection District, which operates the Bayou Blue Volunteer Fire Department in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, received approval from both parish councils to include a proposition on the Nov. 8 ballot doubling the district’s millage rate from 10 to 20 mills. If voters do not approve the hike, the millage will remain at its current rate for the next 10 years.
According to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s most recent audit of the district, it earned almost $411,000 from the tax in 2014. The new millage is currently expected to earn almost $810,000 in one year.
John Culhane, chairman of the fire district’s board, said new money would go toward hiring full-time firefighters and eventually building an additional fire station to accommodate a growing Bayou Blue.
Terrebonne Parish Councilman Gerald Michel expressed concern over the fire district requesting a tax increase while the local economy is struggling, noting the growth in Bayou Blue had resulted in a 22 percent increase in tax revenue from 2011 to 2015.
However, the economic downturn was the impetus for the Bayou Blue Volunteer Fire Department asking for the raise now, according to Culhane. The department is entirely dependent on volunteer firefighters, and many volunteers were oil workers who were available to respond to calls during the day when they were onshore. As laid-off oilfield workers had to find regular daytime jobs, the fire district’s volunteer count has dwindled. Culhane said his district once had about 35 volunteers; today, it has about “10 or 15.”
With a volunteer force, the fire department has no firefighters on-site when a call comes in. Instead, a call goes out to all volunteers, and those who can respond head to the responding station to gear up and get in a truck. During the day, many volunteers have to negotiate leaving work to respond to an emergency call, which can hamper the fire department’s response.
“During the day, we’re particularly vulnerable right now. Just where we used to have a lot of guys and ladies, we don’t have as many as we used to,” Culhane said.
Harvey Parks Jr., fire chief of the Bayou Blue department, said if the millage increase passes, the department would like to add three or four part-time firefighters to work during the day, which would make the department able to respond to fires quicker. The department is also in the process of purchasing land to build a fourth fire station. According to Parks, two part-time firefighters would man the main station and the new one.
Culhane said the current dearth of volunteers means sometimes there is nobody available to respond to a fire, requiring nearby fire stations to cover for them. The lack of a workforce means increased response times, which could adversely affect fire insurance rates in the area. He said he understands times are tough, but insists the fire district is requesting the ability to have people ready to respond to an incident.
“If we don’t have volunteers, there’s not going to be anybody to show up at a call. So we have to take the steps now necessary to protect the public,” Culhane said.
Parks said by placing the issue on the November presidential ballot, the fire district saves taxpayers money and gets more Bayou Blue voters involved in the decision.
“We felt we should let the public decide if they want us to improve our protection or stay at the level we have, and we wanted as many people as possible to make the decision,” he said. •
