Fire Department Improvements
The City of Cabot Fire Department provides an umbrella of security for citizens by minimizing the loss of life and property resulting from fires, medical emergencies, environmental conditions, or other disasters. They are responsible for the prevention and suppression of fires within the City with a resident population rapidly escalating to almost 30,000 people, and covering over 15,000 acres. The Insurance Services Office awarded the department a Public Protection Classification rating of 2/2X in 2016.
This will NOT be a new tax. This will be an extension of the current 1% sales and use tax that was originally presented and approved in 2005, and extended in 2013 by voters.
The proposed Fire Training and Burn Facility will provide a real world experience for our emergency personnel to train on High Risk, Low-Frequency events. The tactical burn building will be building equipped with a 12x12 burn room, ventilation breach props, window breach props, forcible entry props, rope rescue training towers, movable walls for search, and additional life saving encounters. This facility will improve firefighter safety during fire training.
The addition of a new equipment to the Cabot Fire Department will ensure overlapping coverage, and increased response time to the community. The proposed Heavy-Duty Rescue Pumper is a unit that has all the capabilities of a pumper, with the added compartment space for much needed rescue tools and equipment. This unit will come stocked with hand-picked rescue and fire fighting tools that will add to, and replace outdated and expired equipment. This unit will allow the department to consolidate 3 different apparatus into one unit that is staffed and prepared to respond 24/7.
BALLOT QUESTION
FIRE DEPARTMENT IMPROVEMENT BONDS
Bonds of the City of Cabot in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $2,605,000 for the purpose of financing all or a portion of the costs of the acquisition, construction, furnishing and equipping of facilities and apparatus the City's fire department, including particularly, without limitation, a new fire truck, a new training facility and a new substation and any necessary land acquisition and parking, lighting, road and utility improvements related thereto, professional fees related to any of the foregoing, the establishment of reserves, and bond issuance and any credit enhancement costs, and, in order to pay the bonds, the levy and pledge of a new 1% local sales and use tax within the City that will expire after the bonds have been paid or provision is made therefor in accordance with Arkansas statutes.
□ FOR the issuance of Fire Department Improvement Bonds
□ AGAINST the issuance of Fire Department Improvement Bonds