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Nineveh Township residents ask Johnson County for help funding new fire station
Summary
Two Nineveh Township residents told the county council they cannot bear the full cost of a proposed fire-station bond and asked the county to use general-fund balances to reduce homeowners' tax burden; speakers cited a $5.3 million bond estimate (some say $3.5 million) and an approximate $109 annual tax impact per homeowner.
Two residents of Nineveh Township urged the Johnson County Council on Jan. 12 to prioritize public-safety funding and to help bridge the financing gap for a proposed new fire station.
Debbie Adams (749 West Lakeview Drive) told the council that township tax dollars should first support first responders, public safety and roads, and that the Nineveh Township Fire Department has been ‘‘neglected’’ and underfunded. She urged the council to allocate funds for the new station rather than expecting higher property taxes from local homeowners.
Charlie Bourne (398 West Lakeview Drive, Frank's Lakes, Nineveh) said the current fire station dates to 1956 and described a proposed bond of $5,300,000 that some in the township believe could be done for $3.5 million. Bourne said the bond would add about $109 per year to homeowner taxes on fixed-income residents and asked the council to consider using county general-fund surpluses he described as roughly $48,000,000 at the end of 2024 to offset the cost.
Council members listened and thanked the speakers; no formal action on the request was taken during the meeting. The speakers’ dollar figures and the general-fund balance were stated as the residents’ claims and were not independently verified during the meeting.
The issue may return to the council as part of budget deliberations or a future agenda item if the township seeks formal county assistance.
