Expanded access to rural fire protection funding proposed

The Revenue Committee heard testimony Feb. 20 on a bill intended to help additional rural fire protection districts qualify for state financial aid.

The Mutual Finance Assistance Act, funded by state insurance premium tax proceeds, provides aid to mutual finance organizations and rural or suburban fire protection districts for equipment, operations and training.

To qualify for assistance, at least 80% of the population of any county included in the MFO or district must reside outside the limits of any first, primary or metropolitan class city in the county.

LB399, sponsored by Fremont Sen. Dave Wordekemper, would reduce the threshold to 60%. He said the change would allow a few more counties to form an MFO and ensure that current member counties are not disqualified due to population changes.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual assistance currently go unclaimed, Wordekemper added.

“This straightforward change will help ensure that funds specifically designated for rural fire protection are used for their intended purposes, keeping our rural communities safe,” he said.

Kevin Edwards testified in support of LB399 on behalf of the Millard Suburban Fire District and the Papillion Rural Fire District. He said the Millard district uses aid it receives under the act to reduce its property tax levy in most years.

“The potential new MFOs would benefit by being able to purchase needed equipment and apparatus while keeping their reliance on property tax[es] lower,” Edwards said.

No one testified in opposition to the bill and the committee took no immediate action on it.