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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 with cities from financing necessary infrastructure. "Current fire district law limits a fire district to borrowing no more than a hundred and $50,000," Roger Smith told the committee, and the bill "allows a fire district to borrow up to 2 times their cash reserves." Chief Teague said Sherwood has built reserves over a decade from contract payments and county-assessed dues and needs to borrow an amount "probably in the vicinity of a couple of million dollars" to build a new station.
Committee members asked how reserves are created and overseen. Witnesses explained Sherwood receives contract payments from the City of Sherwood for manpower and also collects county-assessed fees for properties within the district; those receipts flow into the district's general fund and unspent balances are put into reserves. Chief Teague described long-term capital costs, noting recent purchases can exceed $350,000 for a fire truck and that the district previously bought a "million dollar fire truck."
No public witnesses signed up in opposition. After questions and closing, the chair called for a motion, the committee recorded its assent by voice and advanced the bill.
The committee record does not name a formal mover or provide a roll-call tally in the transcript; the committee announced the bill passed by voice vote and moved on to the next item.
The next procedural step will be consideration by the full Senate or assignment to another floor calendar, depending on legislative scheduling.
