Fire District 3 operating in the red the past 3 years

Fire District 3, St. Landry Parish’s largest fire district, has been operating at a deficit the past three years and is relying on a $2.1 million reserve fund to keep operations afloat, a fire district administrator said.
Candace Elkins, who identified herself as a fire district administrator, told the St. Landry Parish Council about the district’s situation at the council’s meeting Wednesday.
The district can operate another three years utilizing its reserves, Elkins said.
In a special meeting early this month, the council rejected a resolution to hold a tax election in Fire District 3 in April. The district proposed a special 10-mill property tax for 10 years for fire protection facilities and obtaining water for fire protection.
Elkins said the district has operated on 16 mills of property tax since 1985.
“While expenses have continued to increase our revenue has not,” she said.
“We are trying to get ahead of the game,” she said about the proposed tax increase.
“We must do something this year in order to have increased revenue by the year 2018,” Elkins said.
Delaying a vote on the millage will only harm residents who will be faced with higher insurance costs, she said.
The Parish Council did take action selecting four people to the fire district’s board. Selected were Wilfred Kinderson Jr., Frank Guidroz, Ryan Chachere and Terri Courville.
The board’s chairman, Charles Dore, who appeared before the council, lost his bid for reappointment.
Five of the districts seven board members were at the meeting.
Elkins said the district covers 300 square miles and is the largest fire district in the parish and one of the largest in the state. It serves about 29,000 people, she said.