Pointe Coupee Parish residents approve millage increase; fire district to hire full-time firefighters

POINTE COUPEE PARISH, La. (WAFB) - Voters in Pointe Coupee Parish approved a new millage increase for Pointe Coupee Fire District Four while at the polls on Saturday, March 25.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office, 69% of residents voted in favor of the new millage to increase Pointe Coupee Fire District Four’s budget. Thirty-one percent of people voted against the millage.

The millage was 10.9 mil, and the proposal on the ballot was for an additional 11 mils, officials said. They added that if residents pay property tax, their payments for fire protection will double. The increase should bring in about $800,000.

RELATED: Pointe Coupee’s Fire District 4 proposes millage increase to keep manpower up

As a result of the millage’s approval, officials with Pointe Coupee’s Fire District Four said they will begin the process of hiring full-time firefighters as early as Monday, March 27. The district will also replace and update older fire stations.

Officials said the Livonia Volunteer Fire Department and the Fordoche Volunteer Fire Department were both volunteers only when they were originally formed. However, Pointe Coupe Fire District Four started hiring part-time firefighters back in 2005 to support the decrease in volunteers. The fire district now needs to take on full-time employees to supplement part-time employees.

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