THANK YOU VOTERS FOR RENEWING THE PARCEL FEE!!!!!!
FIRE DEPARTMENT PARCEL FEE RENEWAL ELECTION OCTOBER 11, 2025
St. Tammany Fire Protection District No.1-Slidellfire is asking voters to renew the $39 parcel fee for ten years for acquiring, constructing, maintaining and operating fire protection facilities and equipment, including obtaining water for fire protection purposes and paying personnel costs and all purposes incidential there to.
The $39 fee equals $0.75 per week or $0.11 per day.
The Parcel Fee was first introduced in 2006 by SLIDELLFIRE to reduce our dependance on traditional property tax millage. Set at $39 per improved land parcel, this fee is paid by a larger population including those with homestead exemption that do not pay towards the fire department’s property tax millage. With the parcel fee, every property owner has some investment in the services we provide.
The Parcel Fee generates $1,423,110 gross ($1,295,377 net) or 4.7% of the total budget. The parcel fee is used for the department to operate and maintain fire protection facilities and equipment including personnel costs.
Did you know?
- 108,000-The population of the fire district today. In 2015 the district’s population was 85,000.
- 10,000-The number of calls we respond to each year. Our call volume has doubled since 2015 from 5,000 calls for service to over 10,000 calls for service.
- 210- the current number of FD1 personnel serving the community. In 2015 we employed 150 personnel.
- 7th largest Fire Department in the state of Louisiana.
- $850,000-The cost of a Fire Engine. Fire apparatus costs have doubled in the past 20 years, just like passenger vehicles.
- 2 Years-The time it takes to build a Fire Engine.
- $1,700,000-The cost of a basic 77′ Ladder Truck.
- 4 Years-The time it takes to build a Ladder Truck.
"We're Always There in Your Time of Need"
“SLIDELLFIRE” has been serving our community continuously since 1952!
With a population of over 100,000 residents living in and around the City of Slidell, that’s more than 1/3 of St. Tammany Parish’s population served by SLIDELLFIRE!
186 Square Miles of land mass protected including Interstates 10, 12 and 59
SLIDELLFIRE PROTECTS OUR HOMES, BUSINESSES AND SCHOOLS!
Residential Structures Protected: 30,000
Commercial Structures Protected: 5,800
Schools Protected: 25
We respond to more than 10,000 calls for service each year, from helping our neighbors who have fallen and need a hand up to life threatening medical emergencies, from vehicle accidents to structure fires. Our personnel take care of you like family-if you don’t know who to call, call us!
18+ Million Dollars Returned to Taxpayers
18+ Million-the amount of money returned to taxpayers pockets by rolling back our millage 10 of the last 18 years.
12,440 New Residents
12,440-the number of new residents in over 3,110 new homes east of Interstate 10 (Lakeshore Villages). These homes and residents require an additional fire station, (Station 10), to provide adequate protection. Station 10 Groundbreaking January 2026!
$0.75 Per Week
$0.75 per WEEK-the cost of the parcel fee for each property owner. We are hard pressed to find a single can of vegetables for that amount of money today.
The Parce Fee is a flat, nominal fee of $39.00 paid by everyone who owns improved land parcels on a per parcel basis. Even those who enjoy the homestead exemption pay the parcel fee. This fee was first approved in 2006 as a means to diversify the Fire Department’s funding. Prior to this fee, the property tax millage was the sole source of funding for FD1.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Saturday, October 11, 2025.
Early voting is Saturday, September 27 through Saturday, October 4, 2025, excluding Sunday, September 28. Early voting hours are 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily.
No, this is a renewal for the existing $39 parcel fee.
Voters will decide whether or not to renew the $39 parcel fee for St. Tammany Fire District No.1.
In Louisiana, a parcel fee is a tax levied by local authorities on each parcel of land, typically within a specific area. The fee is set by the governing authority and is subject to approval by the governing authority and voters. The fee can range from five to one hundred dollars per parcel per year, depending on the resolution of the governing body and the area’s voters. The proceeds from the parcel fee are used for various purposes, including fire protection facilities and maintenance.
FD1 is asking voters to renew the current $39 parcel fee.
The district loses approximately $1,295,377 and will have to cut services or increase the millage to compensate.
If voters say yes, the fire district will continue to collect $39 on each parcel and will have the funding necessary to maintain and improve services within the fire protection district.
Shall Fire Protection District No. 1 of the Parish of St. Tammany, State of Louisiana,
(the “District”), continue to levy and collect an annual parcel fee of $39.00 on each lot,
subdivided portion of ground or individual tract upon which is located, either in whole or
in part, a residential or commercial structure, regardless of the structure’s being
occupied or unoccupied (an estimated $1,400,000 reasonably expected at this time to
be collected from the levy of the service charge for an entire year), for a period of 10
years, beginning with the year 2026 and ending with the year 2035, for the purpose of
acquiring, constructing, maintaining and operating fire protection facilities and
equipment, including obtaining water for fire protection purposes and paying personnel
costs, and all purposes incidental thereto?
The parcel fee renewal, if approved, will be utilized for acquiring, constructing, maintaining and operating fire protection facilities and equipment, including obtaining water for fire protection purposes and paying personnel costs and all purposes incidential there to.
The Parce Fee is a flat, nominal fee of $39.00 per year paid by everyone who owns improved land parcels on a per parcel basis. If you own a home in FD1’s area, you pay $39.00 per year. This amounts to $0.75 per week or $0.11 per day.
- If you own multiple parcels in FD1’s area, and they have been improved (meaning they have been built on), you will pay a $39.00 fee per improved parcel.
- If you own two parcels each with a house on them, you will be paying $39.00 for each or $78.00.
- If you own multiple parcels of land in FD1’s area and only one parcel has a house or other structure on it, you only pay $39.00 for the parcel that is improved (has a structure on it).
Millages are complicated and the department must follow strict state and local laws that govern the process. The district strives to be a good steward of the taxpayer’s money. The millage is designed to be raised and lowered by the Board of Commissioners who represent the interests of the taxpayers to provide the necessary funding for the organization to accomplish the level of service the community expects. Within the 10-year life of the millage, there are times when the district must roll up to the 35-mill voter approved maximum to preserve the ability of the department to collect all 35 mills if needed. When the district is not required to roll up to the full 35 mills, the Fire Chief and the Board determine the needed funding to operate the department and will adjust the millage rate up or down to meet the projected needs for the next budget year. This is how the district has been able to return 18+ million dollars to the taxpayers by rolling the millage back 10 of the past 18 years.
The parcel fee was first conceived and approved in 2006 as a means to diversify the Fire Department’s funding sources. Prior to this fee, the property tax millage was the sole source of funding for FD1.
Our goals for the parcel fee are multifold:
- The Parce Fee is a flat, nominal fee of $39.00 paid by everyone who owns improved land parcels on a per parcel basis. Even those who enjoy the homestead exemption pay the parcel fee. Any citizen that would potentially utilize the services of the fire department now pay something towards their fire department. With the parcel fee, everyone has skin in the game.
- The parcel fee amount is set, so unlike the millage which changes value as our property values go up or down with each assessment done by the Tax Assessor, the parcel fee is set at $39 and the funding generated by the parcel fee does not fluctuate much over time. Each new house, business or structure built to improve a parcel only results in an additional $39 for the fire department.
- With the parcel fee, the department has a predictable secondary revenue source providing stable funding in the amount of $1,423,110 gross ($1,295,377 net) or 4.7% of the total budget.
- Finally, the stability of the parcel fee increases the likelihood of the department being able to lower the millage at times. If there was no parcel fee, the millage would likely have to be increased to make up the difference, resulting in fewer taxpayers picking up more of the cost of providing fire protection and other services thorough increased property taxes to fund the difference.
Slidellfire protects an area of 186 square miles, 122 square miles of which are populated. The boundaries of the district stretch East to West from the Mississippi state line to Lacombe and North to South from Pearl River to Lake Pontchartrain.
The population of FD1 is over 100,000. Including the City of Slidell’s 28,000 residents.
Considering St. Tammany Parish’s total population of 280,000, Slidellfire protects more than a 1/3 of St. Tammany Parish residents, 36% of the total parish population as well as those visiting or traveling through the area. We also back-up our neighboring fire departments in Lacombe, Pearl River, New Orleans and Mississippi.
The remaining 78% of the parish is protected by 11 different Fire Protection Districts and the City of Covington’s Fire Department.