Voters in Affton will see a 10-cent per $100 assessed evaluation tax increase on the ballot April 5 to help fund the Affton Fire District’s pension program. If approved, the owner of an $150,000 house would pay an extra $28.50 a year.
Fire Chief Nickolas Fahs said the last time the district passed a pension tax increase was in 1997. The current rate is just under 5 cents.
“Since they ran that in ‘97, we’ve put another ambulance on, we’ve had to increase the number of people on the plant,” Fahs said. “In order to keep the plant funded, (the fire board) has had to lower the benefit package over the years.”
The addition of new staff and an ambulance was brought upon by the high average age of Affton residents, and it left the fire board with little time to adjust, prompting Prop S.
“The board had been looking at running a tax issue for a little while, and it’s never a great time to do it, but the board thought at some point we need to address the stuff that was taken away from the employees,” Fahs said.
Fahs said the increase wouldn’t add any benefits that employees weren’t promised when they were hired before cuts to the pension. He said the district is currently one of the lowest taxed for pensions, and the increase would help retain staff and fill openings more quickly.
