Voters in Garland, Hot Spring counties OK fire district

Voters in rural Garland and Hot Spring counties have approved a measure to form a fire district.

But voters in the Piney Fire Department service area rejected the agency’s request to turn over billing and collecting to Garland County.

The outcomes could mean eventual lower fire insurance rates for residents of the 70 West Fire Department jurisdiction in Garland and Hot Spring counties, and possible higher fees for the Piney Fire District residents, officials said.

Complete, unofficial results showed: Tony Dzianott, 70 West treasurer, said Tuesday’s vote will further the department’s goal of reaching a three rating. It’s gone from a seven to a four in recent years, he said.

“In my case, that lowered my insurance by several hundred dollars a year,” he said.

Dzianott said the department hopes the 80% to 90% collection rate enabled by delegating billing and collecting to the county will raise $200,000 a year in additional revenue. The current 41% rate returns about $240,000, he said.

Piney Fire Chief Scott Miser said Tuesday’s outcome could prove costly for property owners who pay an annual $80 per dwelling fee.

Referring to a potential increase in fees, he said, “It’s the last thing we would want to do.” He added that the flat fee would have become a square footage calculation had the measure passed.

“The 20% who do pay don’t deserve to pay more,” he said. “They would’ve had lower fees, better service and lower insurance rates. It definitely would’ve benefited people, but nobody wanted to come out and vote for it. They didn’t want to better their community.”

Miser said revenue increases driven by a fire district designation would have allowed Piney to buy new equipment and improve its insurance rating, with the resulting drop in insurance rates more than offsetting the annual membership fee. The department has a five rating on the one-to-10 scale, with one being the highest and 10 the lowest.