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Senate committee clears bill letting certain fire districts borrow against reserves to build station
Summary
The Senate City, County & Local Affairs Committee voted to advance SB 540 after supporters said it would let qualifying fire districts borrow up to twice their cash reserves to finance large projects such as a new Sherwood fire station; witnesses described reserves as contract and county-assessed funds, not direct municipal taxes.
Senate Bill 540, advanced by the City, County & Local Affairs Committee, would allow a fire district to borrow up to twice its cash reserves to finance capital projects such as new fire stations. Senator Jane English presented the measure and introduced Roger Smith of the State Fire Chief Association and Sherwood Fire Chief Teague as witnesses.
Supporters said the change fixes an anomaly in current law that caps borrowing at $150,000 and prevents larger fire protection districts that contract…
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