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Arivaca fire district survives test

With fires swirling throughout Arizona, now does not seem the time to talk about dissolving a fire district.

But that's the conversation which has split the town of Arivaca.

The town gathered the requisite signatures and filed the necessary paperwork two years to form a fire district to replace its 30 year old volunteer fire department.

Last October, the first tax bills began to arrive, enough to cause some eyes to pop.

"Our's went up $700 a year," says Susan Ramsey, who moved to Arivaca six years ago. "Neighbors, $1,200, $750, another $2,000."

That was enough to start a drive to dissolve the district.

The tax is $3.25 per $100 assessed valuation, the highest it can legally be.

"I don't think anybody likes it. I certainly don't like it," says Roger Beal, who owns the town mercantile. "I'm willing to pay it but I don't like it."

"They don't see the value in it," says District Treasurer Kathleen Wishnick. "They think if it's going to burn, it's going to burn."

Since the tax went into effect, the district has been able to staff it's fire department with full time personnel, including EMT's.

In the past, it was all volunteer and when a fire happened, they had to mobilize at the fire station and start from there.

It could be a long process, taking a 15 minutes to get people into place.

"Now they can start right here," says Wishnick, standing in the middle of the fire station.

In the past, trucks would fall apart and repairs would be paid for by holding a bake sale.

"We don't have to do that now," says Wishnick.

But people like Ramsey says the extra time won't make much difference so there's not much need to pay for it.

"Most of the time, the fire department can't get to your house to put out the fire," she says. "Most of us realize that it'll burn and we'll have to deal with it.

But Wishnick says she sleeps better at night.

"Knowing if I had a medical emergency or a fire, I would have people to help me," she says. "I look at it as insurance keeping me and my family safe."

But this time of year, the big threat is brush fires and Wishnick says having people on hand helps.

"We've had two fires in the past week but we've been able to get them out," she says.

And Ramsey says she's willing to pay a bit more for a fire district that relies more on volunteers and less on taxes.

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