By Phil Davidson
The Idaho Falls Post Register (Idaho)

BONNEVILLE COUNTY, Idaho — Homeowners served by Bonneville County Fire Protection District No. 1 won't see an increase this year in taxes tied to firefighting.

The spending plan for the coming fiscal year, approved last week, totals $1.4 million. That's up slightly from the current budget, but taxpayers won't be asked to pay more thanks to continued growth in the fire district's boundaries.

The district, which encompasses 300-plus square miles of unincorporated county land outside Ammon, Ucon and Idaho Falls, has either lowered its levy or kept it stagnant over the past several years.

Last year's rate was .00114, meaning the owner of a home assessed at $100,000 after exemptions would pay $114 to support the district.

The total assessed value of taxable property inside the district grew 16 percent over the past year, from $1.25 billion to $1.4 billion, Bonneville County Clerk Ron Longmore said.

Commissioners attributed that growth to new home annexations in the eastern foothills, among other factors.

The bulk of their budget — $1,370,860 — goes to the city of Idaho Falls for its services.

The district has no employees; it contracts with the Idaho Falls Fire Department to extinguish blazes. That money pays the salaries and benefits of approximately 14 Idaho Falls firefighters.

The commissioners discussed other issues at their meeting Tuesday, including:

They recently purchased two used brush trucks from the Bureau of Land Management for $45,000. The trucks, which carry 400 gallons of water, are especially needed when fires ignite in the foothills. July's Blackhawk Fire southeast of Ammon, for example, scorched 1,500 acres and threatened several homes. Commissioner Ralph Isom said the district was able to save taxpayers money by not purchasing new brush trucks, which would have cost at least $100,000. ""That's why we're not raising levies,"" he said.

The three-member commission is looking at purchasing land near Lincoln Road and Hitt Road for a fire station. The district owns a house at Lincoln Road and Woodruff Avenue that's occupied by the Idaho Falls Fire Department, but Isom and district liaison Dick Fowler said that facility is expensive to maintain. They're considering selling it. Isom said the district also received an offer to have 2 acres donated to it from a developer building a 160-acre subdivision west of Idaho Falls. The district is considering building a station there as well.

Commissioners are also considering leasing a pumper truck located at the district's Woodruff Avenue fire station to the city of Ammon. Fowler said he looked at the truck recently and it wouldn't start. Ammon Fire Chief Stacy Hyde said he'd be interested in the truck as long as it functions properly. The district would still own the truck, but the Ammon Fire Department would maintain it and use it under the lease agreement. Idaho Falls Fire Chief Dean Ellis said he would look into why the truck wasn't working properly.

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