Originally published in the 11/10/17 print edition of Yellowstone County News.
Good news for the Lockwood Fire Department.
The department will be getting an additional $54,000 added to their 2016-17 budget as a consequence of efforts of the County Treasurers Department and the Department of Revenue to determine why the district has not been getting the tax revenues expected.
Lockwood Fire Chief John Staley attributed the turn of events, to last month’s article in the Yellowstone County News, which focused attention on a problem with which the district has been wrestling for the past three years.
As a result of getting the additional revenue, the Lockwood Fire Board approved adding another firefighter to the district’s force, during their meeting last Wednesday.
Staley was pleased with the decision, pointing out that having an additional staff member will save the district in expenditures for overtime.
Tax revenues for Lockwood were coming in about $120,000 less than anticipated as determined by the mills assessed on taxable property values. The shortage was … Read more of the story in the print edition or online here.