Kuna Fire asks for levy increase and bond to keep up with rising call volume

BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Within the last ten years, Kuna's population has grown by more than 50 percent, but the fire department hasn't been able to keep up.

"With the growth of the community we've been struggling to keep up with the call volume. Meeting every call that comes in," said T.J. Lawrence, Chief of the Kuna Fire Department.

Just last year, Lawrence says emergency calls increased by 17%.

"Last year we ran just over 2,000 calls for the one station," Lawrence said.

The station only has five firefighters on shift at a time, making it difficult to respond to more than one emergency call at a time.

"More calls are coming in simultaneously, and we're just not available. We're not here. We're on another call, and we can't take that second call," Lawrence said.

That's why the department is pushing for a bond as well as a levy increase.

"The levy is what will provide us with more staff, more firefighters, and the bond is what would provide us a second station," Lawrence said.

That station would be built on the south side of the train track, and six more firefighters could be hired.

If the proposal is passed by voters, the projected increase would be approximately $1.96 per month for every $100,000 of the assessed property value according to Kuna Fire. A typical property owner, outlined as $346,000 with the primary residence exemption, would see a projected increase of $6.79 per month or $81.45 per year.

"With those combined, the community is going to see an improvement in the response times. Improvement in availability. We will be able to take those simultaneous calls on," Lawrence said.

Just click here for more information on the levy/bond information.