CHICKASHA – Voters gave resounding approval last week to extend a 10-year oneeighth- cent (0.125) sales tax to support Grady County’s 20 fire departments.
Unofficial results from the Oklahoma State Election Board show that 17,482 total votes (70.02%) were in favor of the measure, with only 1,354 voters (29.98%) against renewing the tax. It will be in effect from April 1, 2025, through March 30, 2035.
Twelve of the stations are volunteer, which Kim Duke, finance and record officer for Grady County Fire Department, recently told local media are 100% funded by the sales tax. The GCFD is the largest volunteer department in Oklahoma, she said, due to the 12 stations around the county with 156 volunteers.
Ten years ago on Nov. 4, 2014, Grady County voters voted yes on a one-eighth-cent (0.125 cents) tax to benefit all the fire stations. Sales tax collections began on April 1, 2015, and are set to end on March 30, 2025.
An Oct. 22 post on the Rush Springs Fire Department Facebook page reminded voters that, what is being called the “Fire Tax,” is not a new tax, but a renewal of what is already in place and how the money is used.
“The money from this sales tax is divided equally between ALL 20 fire stations in Grady County. We use these funds to purchase new equipment, repair existing equipment, pay for protective gear, tools etc.,” the post read. The only difference in the way the current proposition is worded in comparison to the 2014 measure is the 2024 version references future legally created fire run areas.
“Grady County has been the talk of the State in its efforts to support its volunteer firefighters. There are many departments in other counties that cannot even pay their fuel bills because of lack of funding. Numerous counties have put in sales tax just like ours, because of how well our program works,” the Facebook post continued.
In March 2023, GCFD also received a $20,000 grant and a vehicle donated by Gulfport Energy. Duke told Southwest Ledger at the time that the grant would pay for the acquisition of several natural-gas monitors, plus a calibration unit to detect gas leaks in homes and businesses. The 2017 Ford pickup was designated to be used throughout the county as an emergency management response squad vehicle.
Duke recently told local media that, over the past 10 years, fire stations have been able to upgrade equipment, gear, facilities and more. The fire stations are located in Acme, Alex, Amber, Bailey, Blanchard, Bradley, Bridge Creek, Chickasha, Cox City, Farwell, Friend, Harold, Minco, Naples, Ninnekah, Pioneer, Pocasset, Rush Springs, Tuttle and Verden.
Another benefit gained over the last 10 years from the tax fund is that 10 of the 12 stations are now emergency medical response certified, GCFD Chief Rodney Gregory told local media. Firefighters have the ability to perform more emergency medical services on the scene while waiting for Emergency Medical Service to arrive.
Also, Duke said that the fire stations’ insurance services office score has increased. This rating is used by insurance companies to evaluate the quality of public fire protection.
The week before the election Rep. David Smith (R-Arpelar) held an interim study before the House Public Safety Committee at the State Capitol to examine issues surrounding recruiting and retaining volunteer rural firefighters.
He told the committee that rural firefighting is much more than just fighting brush fires, as firefighters are often the first line of defense for home and business owners. Fire coordinators from across the state were invited to participate in the study. Possible solutions mentioned for recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters included expanding retirement eligibility or offering a substantial monthly stipend.
The rural fire coordinator for the Eastern Oklahoma Development District based in Muskogee, Ed Barton, did mention rural fire departments are struggling financially. He said the biggest part of the budget for many stations comes from annual forestry grants of about $10,000.
Smith said in the legislative press release that additional mandatory training requirements put on unpaid volunteers is a concern addressed by rural fire coordinators earlier in the year when he met with them. He said the legislative study is a way to further the discussion.