In order to form a fire protection district you first have to submit
a petition to the circuit court containing the signatures of one
hundred registered voters. This rather simple procedure is described in
RSMo §321.030. A sample of the petition that can be used is attached as
Appendix 2. The rather simple requirements of the statute hide a number
of very complicated questions that you need to address and decide
before circulating the petition.
First of all, you need to figure out what boundaries you are going
to propose for the fire protection district. The people who sign the
petition must live within those boundaries. This is a matter that ought
to be negotiated with adjoining fire departments. It is often a source
of controversy because citizens will claim they are being forced to
participate in a fire protection district that they do not want. You
want a boundary that includes as many of the “yes” voters as you can
get, but does not include “no” voters. On the other hand your tax
revenue is going to depend upon the assessed valuation of the property
located within the district. The larger the district, generally
speaking, the higher your tax revenue. (However, you should recognize
that agricultural property gets a very low rate of taxation when
compared to commercial or residential property. If you have choice of
including a square mile of agricultural property and an acre of
commercial property almost invariably the acre of commercial property
will generate higher tax revenues.)
The decision on the area ought to involve consultation with the
county clerk or other political officials who generally is an expert on
voter behavior and can tell you areas that will be favorable to the
formation of the fire district, as well as those that are opposed.
Those of us who are intimately involved in fire protection often find
it inconceivable that people would be opposed to paying a small tax in
order to save their lives; but the fact is that many people have an
instinctive hatred of government and vote against everything that
involves an increase in taxation. You need to anticipate and plan for
opposition from the very beginning. Then if the opposition fails to
materialize then you have either done your job well or been
extraordinarily lucky.
Also you might consult with the county assessor in drawing your
district. The assessor can estimate the tax revenue that will be
available from your district and give you realistic projections as to
what sort of income the district might anticipate. (You need to keep in
mind that the income from the district that the district generates from
taxes probably will not occur until well after the district is formed
[perhaps as much as 15 months after the formation of the district]).
In the typical fire protection district formation there already has
been a voluntary association which has existed for several years or
decades. This association has reluctantly concluded that membership
sales and bake sales and charitable donations are not enough to keep
the operation afloat. There is a need for tax revenue to provide the
required services. The usual thought about the boundaries is to make
the boundaries of the fire protection district the same as the
boundaries of the voluntary association so as to include every member.
However, at the edge of every voluntary association there are
usually people that belong to other neighboring volunteer fire
districts. There will be an overlap of membership. The adjoining fire
protection district might very well resent what they perceive as a grab
for territory, if you select a boundary that is inclusive of all of the
members in your volunteer association. Negotiate and discuss with these
joining volunteer associations, because you do not want them to get so
angry with you that you will stir up opposition to the formation of
your district.
Once you get your boundaries decided you then have to gather
signatures. The number of signatures that the statute says you have to
have is one hundred. However, each of these one hundred people must (1)
live within the district, and (2) be registered to vote. Large numbers
of people will tell you that they are registered to vote, or that they
live within the district, and they will be mistaken. Many people cannot
locate where they live upon the map, and many people claim to be
registered to vote when in fact they are not. Therefore, it would be
prudent to gather two or three times the number of required signatures
in order to make sure that you have a sufficient number.
The county clerk can be helpful. The county clerk can provide you
with a list of all of the people in the county who are registered to
vote. There may be a small charge for the preparation of this list, or
you may be able to talk the county clerk into waiving the fee. If you
find someone who lives within the district and is willing to sign the
petition but is not registered you can march that individual over to
the court house and make sure they get registered at once. Similarly,
you can encourage that individual’s spouse, adult children, and other
relatives who live within your boundaries to become registered to sign
your petition. Do not take the person’s word that they have actually
gone and registered: double check. Many people fail to register under
the mistaken belief that doing so will result in them being called for
jury duty. That used to be the case and may people refused to register
or vote in fear of being called in as a juror. Recent changes to the
law have indicated that drivers license holders are also called for
jury duty. Most people will be selected for jury duty whether or not
they register to vote.
Before you turn in your petition, it would be a good idea to have
the county clerk check the signatures to make sure that at least one
hundred people are registered voters. The statute does not require that
this be done, but I presume some sort of evidence will be required to
satisfy the judge on this point. The best individual to testify will be
the county clerk. This is the usual function of the county clerk and
they will not be surprised at being requested to verify the signatures.
Keep in mind that while you are circulating you petition to form the
district that folks opposed tot he district have the right under
section 321.090 to circulate a counter petition. There is no minimum
number of signatures required on a counter petition. You might want to
keep quiet about your circulation of the petition, and only circulate
it among known supporters, in order to prevent people from exercising
their right to circulate a protesting petition. Or you may decide that
being open, circulating the petition at all sorts of public events (the
county fair, annual meeting of the local farmers cooperative, bake
sales, and chili suppers) is an important way to identify positive
voters and that you will undertake the risk of stirring up opposition.
There is no clear way that is best, although my preference would be to
keep matters relatively quiet at the beginning so that the real fight
that comes after the judge has approved your application to form their
district. Once your petition is finished, your attorney turns it in to
the circuit clerk. Generally a filing fee will have to be paid,
although in some circuits it has been known for the court to waive the
posting of a filing fee. The legalities on this point are not entirely
clear. You might try to talk the circuit clerk into the idea that no
fee should be required since this is not a typical lawsuit. In any
event, the usual filing fees are relatively small (in the neighborhood
of $100) and it is not worth fighting over if you have to pay. After
all, you do want the good will of the circuit clerk and the circuit
judge, so do not make a big deal out of having to pay the filing fee.
Shortly after the petition is filed, the judge will hold a hearing
to determine if there should be a fire protection district formed. The
statute does not require that there be any sort of notice given to the
citizenry of their right to appear at this hearing and to contest the
formation of the district. Many circuit judges will want some sort of
advertisement placed in the newspaper prior to this hearing so that
citizens can say what they think about the idea of forming a new fire
protection district.
Similarly you should anticipate that the local newspaper will want
to run a newspaper story about the proposal to form this new
government. It would be wise to anticipate these matters and to be
prepared to pay for a newspaper advertisement if that is what the
circuit judge requests. Similarly you might prepare in advance a
newspaper story about the formation of your district and give it to the
local newspapers in the form or a “press release” to encourage
favorable newspaper publicity. A sample press release is attached to
this paper as Appendix 3. Feel free to modify that press release by
changing the names of the spokesman, changing the quotations, and
including many more specific examples.
After the circuit judge holds his hearing on the petition, the judge
will enter an order creating the fire protection district and ordering
an election. A sample of that order is attached to this paper as
Appendix 4.
It is impossible to predict how much a hearing will be required in a
particular case. The statute says that the judge will decide that the
formation of the fire protection district is reasonable, and that an
election should be held. The judge has the power to change the
boundaries from that which is listed on your petition. And he or she is
empowered to give the new district a new name. One presumes that the
judge will most likely use the name that you have proposed, and the
boundaries that you have proposed particularly if there is no protest
or visible opposition. If your proposal has created active opposition,
the hearing on the proposed incorporation could last for several days.
However, most of these things will require a hearing that lasts 5
minutes. You are much better off if you are able to get by with a
hearing that lasts 5 minutes.
