FAQ

The day of the election is April 29, 2023.

The purpose of the April 29, 2023 vote is to consider passing a new millage that will help FD7 with staffing shortages, antiquated equipment and work facilities.

Fire District 7 needs additional millage so that we can purchase much needed new equipment, improve facilities and hire new staff. With additional funding we would be able to improve safety for not only our team but for the citizens that we support and help on a daily basis.

The current millage for St. Tammany Fire Protection District 7 is 19.74 mils.

A millage rate of 38 mils is being proposed on the April 29, 2023 ballot.

Shall Fire District No. 7 of the Parish of St. Tammany, Louisiana (the “District”), levy a tax of eighteen (18) mills on all property subject to taxation in the District (an estimated $914,000 reasonably expected at this time to be collected from the levy of the tax for an entire year), for a period of twenty (20) years, beginning with the year 2023 and ending with the year 2042, for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining and operating fire protection and emergency medical service facilities, vehicles and equipment, including movable and immovable property, to be used by the District directly or indirectly to provide fire protection and emergency medical services in and for the District?

If passed, the millage is in place for 20 years.

If the vote does not pass, Fire District 7 will not be able to upgrade their stations, their equipment, or hire more firefighters. This also puts FD7 at risk for a decreasing PIAL rating. To view more about what your vote means, click here.

If the vote passes, Fire District 7 will be able to upgrade their stations, their equipment, as well as hire more firefighters. This could also positively affect the PIAL rating for District 7. To view more about what your vote means, click here.

The revenue that comes from the millage goes directly to St Tammany Fire Protection District 7.

Although our brothers and sisters in neighboring St Tammany Parish Fire districts are always helping each other out in some kind of way, the revenue that comes from each individual districts millages can only be used for that particular district.

The current Property Insurance Association of Louisiana (PIAL) rating for Fire District 7 is 5.

You can view our list of scheduled events here. You can also follow the Fire District 7 Facebook page to stay up-to-date on any new events.

To find out where to vote, you can download the Geaux Vote app available for iPhone and Android devices. You can also visit the Secretary of State website.

To help in our efforts, you can share this website with your friends on social media, share our social media posts, attend community events, or even host your own by filling out our contact form.

If you have any questions, we would love to hear from you. You can reach us on our website by filling out the contact form or you can send us a message on Facebook. We also encourage voters to attend our meet and greets and informational meetings we have scheduled throughout the district leading up to the election. To find information on those please visit the Community Events page.

It is important to go out and vote because we want our community to be heard. Your choice matters.

Fire District 7 receives approximately $900,000 in property tax revenue which is 2% of the total revenue received by all fire departments in St. Tammany Parish. To restate, Fire District 7 covers the largest area with the second lowest revenue.

We are asking to double the amount of firefighters we currently have. This will improve the quality of care for medical calls and increase the chances of reducing the amount of fire that occurs at a home.

Most of the stations were built for only volunteer work. We have to provide proper living quarters and a kitchen. A minimum shift is 24 hours. Our full time guys are here 48 hours… which is 33% of their life. We should be able to provide a place for them to eat, sleep, and live. A lot of our kitchens and bunkrooms are makeshift and rundown.

Fire District 7 serves one hundred seventy-six (176) square miles of area in St. Tammany Parish which is approximately 21% of the parish. This makes our district the largest district in area throughout all of St. Tammany Parish.

Our fire trucks are over 20 years old. Our stations were originally made for volunteer work. Our extrication equipment for motor vehicle accidents is nearing 20 years old. Known as the jaws of life, we have had some failures on that equipment while trying to extricate patients. We also will need to purchase more AEDs. Because of the age of everything, our maintence budget has tripled. In 2022 we spent $140,000 in maintenance alone.

If we are able to hire more firefighters our response time goes down which means more lives are saved. This would cut the time it would take possibly in half.

The majority of the calls we receive are medical in nature or are vehicle accidents.

Fire doubles in size every minute. Eventually, it becomes a room and contents, at that point, it can become 25%, next minute 50% of your home, and a minute after that your entire home could be completely in flames. Depending on the size of a home and the initial fire, a home could be fully involved in between 5 and 15 minutes. Because of the fire growth and the time it takes to have proper fire apparatus and personnel on the scene, the fire could be 50% involved by the time any firefighters can enter the home.

Fire District 7’s approximate response time is 7.5 minutes to any call, no matter the nature of the call. The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) recommends that response times should be 5.5 minutes max.

Fire District 7 responded to 840 calls in 2022. That is a 24% increase from the 671 calls in 2021. We are only expecting this number to increase for 2023 with the potential new highways and homes being built in our district.

If the millage is passed by the public, initially we would hire more firefighters to be on the calls. This allows them to be there sooner to effectively make an impact on the call. Next, we would purchase new firetrucks to ensure that they are working accurately and making it to calls. We would improve our stations to be able to house these firefighters.