Ballot issue would unify, help replenish equipment for city and rural response Palmyra Fire Chief Gary Crane has served with the Palmyra Fire Department for the past 38 years, and he joins fellow volunteer firefighters seeking success for the April 4 ballot issue that would establish a new Palmyra Fire Protection District.
The ballot issue seeks to establish a fire protection district supported by a property tax at a rate not to exceed 30 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for Palmyra R-1 School District residents. The 121-year old Palmyra Fire Department covers an area of about 200 square miles, and currently receives membership dues from about one-third of residents in the area — along with four percent of the city budget — to account for an annual department budget of about $102,500. Crane said a new fire protection district would help replace out-of-compliance equipment — like the pumper, brush and rescue trucks the volunteer firefighters depend on with every call.
In 1949, the Rural Association was formed so a fire truck would operate outside of Palmyra's city limits. If the ballot issue passes, city and rural operations would be together under the new district, inspiring Crane's motto for the issue: "Let's make them one."