In January, officials with the Mari-Osa Fire Protection District changed their name to the Belle Volunteer Fire Department to better reflect the area they serve.
In April, department officials are hopeful voters will approve a tax levy they voted down last year that would support the fire district's work.
Voters rejected a proposal last April that would have established a property tax levy of up to 30 cents per $100 assessed valuation to fund firefighting operations. Voters are being asked to approve the same proposal in this April's municipal election.
The district encompasses 102 square miles in northern Maries and southern Osage counties, including Belle and surrounding rural areas.
The issue failed last year with 224 "no" votes and 208 "yes" votes. Osage County voters turned down the proposal by a slim margin of 157 "no" to 150 "yes," with Maries County voters casting 67 "no" votes and 58 "yes."
"The last election we had a very low voter turnout, and that did not help," Fire Chief Dwight Francis said.
The fire department currently is funded from two sources - city taxes inside Belle and voluntary fees from rural members outside the city. The new levy would establish a districtwide property tax instead.
Like the previous proposal, this levy would allow the department to remain volunteer-operated, and all money collected would go toward upkeep of current equipment, new equipment, insurance and other operation costs, department officials said.
"No money would go toward salaries for any firefighter," Francis said. "It would allow us to start a vehicle replacement schedule. In the case of our first out pumper, we would keep it in first out status for approximately 20 years then shift it to backup status for another 20 years, trying to get as close to 40 years out of one truck. A new pumper can cost $350,000 or more. That would have a payment with no interest of $17,500 a year for 20 years to cover that cost. That's just one truck, and that doesn't replace the other needed trucks or extrication tools or hand tools that we need to have."
Francis said the department will never truly be able to keep up with the cost of replacing everything, "but we have to start somewhere and try our best to protect the firefighters that are giving there time to try and protect the residents."