DAM B – It's been a long haul for the people of Dam B, and particularly for the Dam B Community Watch (DBCW). Along with the members of Emergency Service District #5 (ESD#5), and the Dam B Volunteer Fire Department, the DBCW was instrumental in being able to finally upgrade the equipment in our area.
On Saturday, the Dam B VFD and ESD #5 celebrated the arrival of a new fire truck, which will help the department to better serve the community. Dam B VFD had its official “roll-in” ceremony, and invited the public to come out and help them celebrate the occasion, with food and entertainment.
A Bit of History
After the founding of the Dam B area, with the completion the Town Bluff Dam and Lake Steinhagen (Dam B), the area was serviced by fire departments from the surrounding area. In 1974, the Dam B Volunteer Fire Department was formed. It remained a small, barely funded VFD using hand-me-down equipment that seemed to be broken more than it worked for over thirty years.
Emergency Services District #5 was founded in 1995.
An ESD is set up as a funding mechanism for the VFD. VFD's are not allowed to receive tax monies, so funds must be channeled through an ESD. Back then, the only revenue that ESD#5 received was a .03 per hundred of property tax. Oftentimes this wasn't enough to provide fuel for equipment, let alone buy the equipment itself. Bake sales and Boot Drives paid for fuel and little else. As the ESD was looking for sources of revenue to support the VFD, they found that local jurisdictions are allowed to add 1.5% to the sales tax in that area, as long as it is voted in by the citizens.
Members of DBCW immediately started organizing a petition to authorize the additional tax for use by ESD#5.
DBCW members went door to door, sat outside of the few businesses in the area, called their neighbors, sat in the hot sun handing out pamphlets, anything to get the citizens in the area to vote for additional taxes.
In 2022, they succeeded and by a vote of 101 to 26, the members of the community authorized an additional sales tax to be utilized by ESD#5. At the time, Harris' Country Market and the Dam B Jiffy Mart were among the few businesses in the area. The addition of the Dollar General has helped considerably in raising revenues for the ESD, but surprisingly, the largest share of revenues has been from cell phone and internet taxes instituted by the state.
Finally, after years of persistence, the Dam B VFD has been able to purchase its first new truck. We are extremely proud of the job the Board Members of ESD#5 have done in being good stewards of our money to where we can afford a new truck. We are also extremely proud of our firefighters who give so much to the community without recompense, and frequently without thanks.
