Voters nix increase for Sugar Grove Fire Protection District

Voters turned down a request for a tax hike Tuesday that would have funded the construction of two new fire stations in the Sugar Grove Fire Protection district.

By a margin of 4,338 to 2,753 (nearly 60 percent against), unofficial results showed residents voted against raising the district's tax rate to 64 cents per $100 of equalized assessed value, an increase of 14 cents. For the owner of a home valued at $250,000 the increase would have meant about $120 in additional taxes.

The district will have to shelve its building plans. According to Chief Marty Kunkel, two new fire stations are needed to cut down response times to locations furthest from the fire station on Municipal Drive.