Fire opt out a no-go

The Custer County Commission seemed set to pass a resolution at its regular meeting June 25 for an opt out of the mill levy for fire protection funding in the county in an effort to provide more money to the six departments in the county that do not belong to a taxing district.
That was, until an emergency meeting of the county’s Fire Advisory Board Monday evening.
That board rejected the commission’s plan for an opt out, with a couple of those in attendance saying departments were concerned about raising property taxes as well as the opt out not going to a public vote.
As such, when the representative from the Custer Volunteer Fire Department moved to request an approval of the opt out, the motion died for a lack of a second.
“I was amazed at the idea of not wanting to accept the commission’s effort to help out,” said fire advisory board president Klinton Rittberger, who is the chief of the Fairburn Volunteer Fire Department. As president of the board, Rittberger, who has spent time at a pair of recent commission meetings touting the potential benefits of an opt out, does not vote unless there is a motion that ends in a tie. “I will also respect this is the general wish of the body of the Fire Advisory Board. As president I will back that for whatever is necessary.”
In an interview after the Monday meeting Custer County commissioner Mike Busskohl also seemed surprised at the opt out’s “emphatic” failure, but said he respect’s the Fire Advisory Board’s concern for taxpayers.
“But,” he continued, “I also have worries they will not be properly funded in the near term.”
Busskohl said the commission would not pass the opt out resolution at its June 25 meeting.
“They don’t want it, so we won’t pass it,” he said.
At a special June 18 work session the commission landed on a figure of $275,000 in additional funding for the six departments—Custer, Folsom, Custer Highlands, Pringle, Argyle and Buffalo Gap. Fairburn and Battle Creek’s departments have already established taxing districts.
The opt out, which would have been for one year only, would have seen a projected levy of .169 placed on all taxable property within the county minus those in the Battle Creek and Fairburn districts. This would mean a tax of around 17¢ per $1,000 in valuation, or around $16.87 per $100,000 in valuation.
Presently the taxpayers in those areas pay a .205 levy for fire protection, and that levy yielded $334,605 for 2025. An opt out does not eliminate that mill levy, but rather the fire fund and opt out would roll into one levy to yield the desired extra $275,000 to supplement the aforementioned $334,605.
Commissioners and some fire department officials say the opt out is necessary as fire departments fall further behind in terms of keeping up with equipment needs as inflation costs are rising faster than the money allocated to departments through the fire fund. The fire fund can be raised annually, but can only be raised by the Consumer Price Index factor as well as new growth within those districts. Opt outs have a deadline of July 15 each year for the following year’s taxes.
Rittberger said although he doesn’t speak for the departments, Monday’s vote seemed to be a statement from departments that extra money does not necessarily improve departments and they can continue to get by with what they have, at least for now.
“There was sentiment they did not want to cause a burden to their community people and raise property taxes,” Rittberger said, saying some feel a lack of volunteers, not funding, is a larger issue.
Commission chairman Jim Lintz said at the June 18 meeting while he is in favor of the opt out for one year, he said the commission and fire departments must look to the future as to what they can do to help boost fire department funding. The commission is required to ensure the county has fire protection.
“This is to get us by,” commissioner Mike Busskohl said.
Between now and next year, Busskohl said at the June 18 meeting, districts must be revisited, and any future opt outs would be sent to the vote of the public.
The opt out could have been referred to a public vote, with 5 percent of the voters within those areas signatures required to send the issue to a referendum. The commission estimated a vote would cost the county around $40,000.
Rittberger told the commission at the June 18 meeting that between all of the aforementioned six departments there is roughly a $397,000 shortfall in funding.
Rittberger talked about the aging apparatus fleet for county departments, and gave an example from his department, even though it would not be a part of this opt out. That department has a 1983 tender that he said has a “comical” start up procedure due to the age and rewiring that has had to be done on that piece of equipment.
“Sometimes new recruits might not know how to start it up, but we consider them to be vital because we have kept our budget down considerably and try to maintain and keep getting by and keep equipment we deem necessary,” he said.
Rittberger said the departments have almost become too good with saving money and being resourceful, to their detriment.
“Resourcefulness can be debilitating. That’s my concern,” he said. “We are getting behind. If we don’t start stepping up and put in a fixed replacement schedule on some of this equipment, it will be hard to catch up in the future.”
Commissioner Mark Hartman called the proposed opt out “a Band-Aid, and we need surgery” but said he would support it before reiterating his desire to see a fire district.
“Everything we talk about forever is back to the same thing,” he said. “We have to have a long-term fix. I support this, but we need to make the district thing a bigger deal.”
Rittberger said the fire advisory board plans to take up the districting cause again this fall.
“We have to. I agree with that,” he said. “We have to move forward.”
Rittberger said at the June 18 meeting he would be comfortable with a $275,000 opt out, and spoke about some needs of some of the departments, which includes a new vehicle at the Custer Highlands department, while saying  Pringle and Folsom could use some equipment upgrades as well. Argyle and Custer are eyeing new fire halls.
Brandon Zapp, a Custer Volunteer Fire Department member, said Custer will likely have an engine need within the next five years, as well.
Lintz said the commission would ultimately have the final say in how the money from the opt out was to be allocated to the various departments, but said the commission would have liked recommendations from the Fire Advisory Board. That is now a moot point.
Ultimely, the commission would like to see the district issue voted on in 2026 during mid-term elections.
“Someone has to step up and say, ‘this is what we want to do,’ in terms of a district,” Hartman said. “Make it a hot topic at that meeting. We need to talk districts.”
There was momentum for a district for at least the Custer Volunteer Fire Department’s protection area last year, but that fell apart when a deadline to get the issue onto the last general election ballot came and went without a required resolution to establish the district being approved by the city and county.
Busskohl said the commission will continue to work toward providing more funding for the departments, whether that is through districts or through a voter-approved opt out in 2026.