Harvard Fire Protection District asking voters to approve tax increase

It’s been a busy past few weeks for the Harvard Fire Protection District, something its leadership hopes residents see and remember as they go into the ballot box April 1.

“I am proud of what our chief has done, ... getting the word out about what the fire district does that you never got to see,” fire district board President Scott Logan said.

Sharing those recent calls – and photos from fires and crashes on social media – has helped bring attention to what the district does every day, he said.

“It has gotten people talking. We are more than that little building on Eastman Street or just the guys in the Milk Days parade every year,” Logan said. “We have had quite a few calls – structure fires, grass fires and rescuer calls – and getting information out on Facebook has had a big impact.”

The district is seeking voter approval of a additional tax levy of 0.15% above the limiting rate. The additional revenue would bring the fire district an estimated $500,000 a year and cost homeowners “$50 per $100,000 of assessed value,” Fire Chief John Kimmel said.

“Most people in Harvard would see a $50 to $75 a year increase” on their tax bills, Kimmel said.

What the district hopes to use additional funding for is updated equipment and increased staffing, he added.

It’s the second time in just more than a year that the fire district has sought voter approval of a tax increase. A question on the March 19, 2024, primary election ballot failed with 42% voting yes and 58% voting no. That ballot sought the slightly higher increase of 0.17%.

Part of the reason the district asked for a smaller increase this time is because the district has seen an increase in its Equalized Assessed Valuation.

“The EAV has increased, so we hope the dollars just about end up the same,” Logan said.

But EAV increases have never brought the district the funds it needs to buy updated equipment and hire firefighters, he said.

Where Harvard gets its firefighters also has changed over the decades, Kimmel said.

“Early on, firefighters were the carpenters and the plumbers” who lived in town and who could respond when fires were reported. But the educational requirements – and the types of calls they are needed for - make firefighting into a profession all its own.

“If you look even 20 to 25 years ago, the educational requirements are not what they are today,” Kimmel said. “The difference is 20, even 15 years ago, we had 20 or 30 people who lived in town to respond to calls. Now, most of them live out of town.”

The calls have changed, too. As with most fire departments with EMT/paramedics, a majority of the calls are medical.

Harvard firefighters average about three calls a day, or 1,348 a year, Kimmel said. Of those, 80% to 85% are medical and about 15% are crashes, structure fires or grass fires

Some periods are busier.

According to a March 17 post on a pro-referendum Facebook page – Supporters of HFPD – fire district crews responded to 41 calls for service over the previous four days. That included March 11, when the district had two house fires the same night, according to district spokesman Alex Vucha.

The Harvard Fire Protection District has one station, at 502 S. Eastman St., Harvard, with two or three firefighter/EMTs or firefighter/paramedics on shift at any time.

The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System allows Harvard to ask surrounding fire district’s for help when needed, Logan said, but added Harvard accepts help more often than it can give it.

“It is us asking other communities for help, and they do come, no question, even though we are not reciprocating as much as we should,” he said.