MOHAVE COUNTY – A controversial proposal to split off the northern portion of the Northern Arizona Fire District (NAFD) to create a new district was debated at length during Monday’s Mohave County Board of Supervisors meeting in Kingman. 30 citizens spent 90 minutes commenting during a public hearing that reflected deep division.
Proponents contend that residents of the rural communities of Valle Vista, Truxton and Hackberry north of Kingman are poorly served by NAFD, which is administered by Kingman Fire Department leadership under an intergovernmental agreement with the city. Advocates believe a new district can better marshal resources to re-open three mothballed fire stations and improve response times and improve public safety.
Critics counter that lack of a detailed budget and other critical information triggers concern that the new district will not be financially viable and could flop, leaving them in a worse predicament than current circumstance.
Various NAFD calls for service and their outcomes were detailed during the public hearing, some saying they enjoyed good service while others expressed dissatisfaction. One speaker implied that two deaths in a Valle Vista house fire resulted from slow district response while another offered that the incident was instead a murder-suicide that remains under investigation and has nothing to do with first responder arrival time.
Supervisors voted 3-2 to postpone action on the proposal. The majority favors letting the fire district, during its Oct. 4 governing Board meeting, first determine if it wishes the proposal to move forward and what the specific boundaries of the new proposal are.
Board Chairman Buster Johnson and District 5 Supervisor Ron Gould voted in the minority. They said they voted against postponement because they favor county approval of letting the effort proceed to the petition circulation stage in pursuit of a special election.
The matter could come back for petition process authorization during the County Board’s Oct. 18 meeting.
Dave Hawkins
I question the split, as the “new” area has not come up with a budget, or cost/ expenses estimate.
additionally , it is my opinion that the people pushing for this are in reality , looking for a job,
one was employed previously by NAFD,
currently, our tax base is stable, but as with other “new” districts , supposed costs escalate quickly, which equals increased tax bills, added on assessments, etc,
unless they can prove , before hand, that the current tax base is sufficient to support this idea, I’m against this .
I question the split, as the “new” area has not come up with a budget, or cost/ expenses estimate.
additionally , it is my opinion that the people pushing for this are in reality , looking for a job,
one was employed previously by NAFD,
currently, our tax base is stable, but as with other “new” districts , supposed costs escalate quickly, which equals increased tax bills, added on assessments, etc,
unless they can prove , before hand, that the current tax base is sufficient to support this idea, I’m against this .
I question the split, as the “new” area has not come up with a budget, or cost/ expenses estimate.
additionally , it is my opinion that the people pushing for this are in reality , looking for a job,
one was employed previously by NAFD,
currently, our tax base is stable, but as with other “new” districts , supposed costs escalate quickly, which equals increased tax bills, added on assessments, etc,
unless they can prove , before hand, that the current tax base is sufficient to support this idea, I’m against this .
They dont have the tax base to support one fulltime station let alone chasing calls out route 20 miles. How many small remote fire districts have had to be bailed out. Its not smart to have another.
They dont have the tax base to support one fulltime station let alone chasing calls out route 20 miles. How many small remote fire districts have had to be bailed out. Its not smart to have another.
They dont have the tax base to support one fulltime station let alone chasing calls out route 20 miles. How many small remote fire districts have had to be bailed out. Its not smart to have another.