Nixa fire district seeks tax levy hike

For the first time in over 20 years, the Nixa Fire Protection District is seeking a tax increase.

The Nov. 4 election ballot is asking those in the district boundary, which covers 53 square miles and serves over 33,000 residents – mostly in Christian County – to approve an increase in its operational tax levy of 25 cents per $100 assessed valuation. For a house appraised at $200,000, this would result in an increase of $7.92 per month, or $95 annually, based on the 19% residential assessment rate, according to the district website.

Whitney Weaver, NFPD assistant chief, said the district is funded entirely by property taxes and is not a city department. The district is a separate government entity and has a five-person elected board that provides citizen oversight. The NFPD’s 2025 budget is $4.35 million.

Weaver, a 20-year veteran of the fire district, said its last tax levy increase was in 2003, when it reached 75 cents per $100 assessed valuation. However, the district’s levy rate has been rolled back to roughly 69 cents as of 2024, according to the city of Nixa’s website.

Additionally, over the last nearly 25 years, Nixa’s population has more than doubled, expanding to 24,405 residents in 2023, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

While the NFPD operates with 38 firefighters and three civilian positions, the district has experienced a 40% turnover rate over the past three years.

“It’s kind of a rotation when it comes to firefighters around here,” Weaver said. “What we lose, sadly, is those three- to five-year employees’ experience. Some of it is just young firefighters that maybe want to start down here or have gone to school in Springfield and want to get into fire service. They start with us and then end up moving back to Kansas City or St. Louis or one of those cities after they get a little bit of experience.”

Staffing retention struggles also stem from other nearby departments that can pay their starting firefighters more than Nixa, Weaver said. The Nixa fire district’s starting firefighter pay begins at $42,500, while Logan-Rogersville Fire Protection District pays around $52,000 – an amount reached after voters approved a property tax levy increase in 2024. Starting pay for a firefighter with the Springfield Fire Department is around $57,200, according to city data.

If approved, officials say the additional tax revenue is expected to generate roughly $1.8 million for the 2027 tax year, which is when the levy increase would go into effect.

The tax increase is intended to support higher staff salaries and additional personnel and improvements to a pair of its four fire stations, as well as replacement of a 1996 rescue truck and protective equipment.

“Because of the anticipated growth, we’d love to add six more firefighters,” Weaver said. “That would really give us a little more flexibility with more units available at one time. We get hit quite frequently with two, three, sometimes four calls at once or within 20 to 30 minutes, and that really just wipes us out of units that are available for other emergencies.”

The 25-cent increase is projected to address needs through 2035, according to the district’s website.

Voters have approved bond issues for the district in 2014 and 2022, Weaver said, noting those funded capital projects such as building and renovating new fire stations, along with apparatus purchases. However, that bond money cannot be used on operational costs, he said, while the district’s bond levy funds personnel and expenses necessary to operate and maintain its facilities.

“It’s kind a daily surprise on how much stuff is costing to get fixed and just to operate a district,” he said. “We’ve got five buildings now that we’re trying to maintain and trying to remodel.”

The Nixa area’s population growth also has resulted in a significant jump in emergency call volume, Weaver said. According to the district’s website, personnel responded to 4,725 emergency calls last year, which included minor medical issues and lift assists for elderly residents, along with life-threatening situations. Last year’s calls reflected a 229% increase from 2006, officials say.

The call volume isn’t likely to decrease, as Weaver said the district averages 400-500 calls per month.

“We’ll be really close to 5,000, if not breaking the 5,000 mark,” he said of this year’s call total.

Recognizing voter support for tax issues is challenging, Weaver said the department has held a trio of informational meetings over the past month to keep district residents informed and answer questions.

“Honestly, our heart is to be good stewards of the money and the levies and everything that’s passed for us,” he said. “I think we have a strong history of that.”