From the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette:
Northwest Allen County taxpayers will see a slight increase on their 2013 property tax statements to pay for new equipment for their local fire departments.
The Huntertown Council Monday unanimously approved a rate hike for the Northwest Allen fire District.
During a public hearing – in which no one spoke for or against the increase – Perry Township Trustee Roger Gump explained the district’s rate will increase for property in Huntertown and in unincorporated Perry and Eel River townships.
A family with a home assessed for $100,000 would probably see an increase of just over $8 a year on their property taxes, Gump said, but houses that have reached the 1 percent tax cap would not see the increase.
The tax increase was necessary, Gump said, to create an equipment replacement fund for the territory.
The fire district needs fire trucks, a new ambulance, protective gear and clothing and radios and pagers, he said.
When the fire territory was established six years ago, officials did not set up a fire equipment fund, Gump said.
Even with the increase, the fire district falls below the rates of other county districts and departments.
According to Gump, Northwest Allen’s new fire rate of $0.0772 compares to Fort Wayne at $0.4927; New Haven at $0.2633; Southwest Fire District, $0.1884; Washington Township and Woodburn Fire, $0.1236; and St. Joe Township Fire, $0.096.
The number of runs made by Northwest Allen Fire officials is just under New Haven Fire and EMS at 967 per year, Gump said.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120619/LOCAL/306199990/0/SEARCH
