Chief Proposes Fire Tax in Pottsville, Says More Companies Need to Merge

Pottsville’s Fire Chief proposed a special Fire Tax to City Council members last week and also says that more companies need to consider merging.

Jim Misstishin has asked the City Council to impose a special 1, 2, or 3-mill tax on property owners to help fund Pottsville’s six fire companies. He also said that more need to merge like Phoenix and Humane fire companies did this year.

Council members took his suggestion under advisement at last week’s first budget workshop meeting at City Hall.

A second meeting is scheduled for this week when it’s expected that the so-called wish lists proposed by City government department heads are narrowed down to allow Pottsville to pass a balanced budget for 2026.

Pottsville, like all municipalities in Schuylkill County, is limited in what it can do next year with regard to generating revenue through property tax increases. Due to the countywide reassessment, the City must first create a property tax revenue-neutral millage rate but then can raise taxes up to 10%.

Fire Tax Proposed

In a letter to City Council, Misstishin calls for a special Fire Tax between 1-3 mills. His proposal is clearly using the current millage rates in place. These rates will be adjusted at the beginning of 2026 due to the countywide reassessment. So, if Pottsville were to implement such a tax, it would likely be a fraction of what he’s proposing.

For each mill, Misstishin is estimating that Pottsville’s six fire departments, in total, would receive $172,000 per mill. The math on multiple mills is below:

• 1 mill = $172,000
• 2 mills = $344,000
• 3 mills = $516,000

With whatever is received, should it be approved – which likely would have to be done through an ordinance – 80% of the tax would be allocated to each fire company. That money would help make payments on loans for apparatus the company financed, building construction, and improvements.

Misstishin said the cost of fire apparatus has risen sharply recently. He gave a comparison: American Hose Company’s Engine 71 cost $472,000 in 1996. That same truck, he said, would cost $1.2 million today.

Twenty percent of the tax revenue would go into a department equipment fund that serves all companies.

Currently, according to Misstishin, the City government funds each of the seven (prior to the merger of Phoenix and Humane fire companies) with $29,000 annually from the general fund budget.

That money, he said in his proposal, is just a portion of each company’s $78,500 annual operating cost.

Current council members gave no indication whether they’d support a fire tax and the board as it’s assembled has about six weeks left in office before a new administration takes the reins.

Pottsville Down to Just 4 Fire Companies in the Future?

During his plea to City Council members last week for more revenue to fund the fire companies, Misstishin said the time has also come for more mergers.

In 2025, two historic fire companies – Phoenix and Humane – merged into one to become Pottsville Fire Co. No. 1 at the site of the Humane. A reconstruction project for a bigger firehouse was recently completed.

That merger worked out well, he said.

“They are sitting real good right now,” Misstishin said.

But that should only be the beginning.

“We don’t need six fire companies,” he added, believing that Pottsville can do just fine with four or even three companies.

However, there’s no incentive for fire companies to merge, he said, asking that City Council allow merging fire companies to combine their annual revenue allotment from the City (i.e., Humane and Phoenix still receive their $29,000 but it’s combined into one pot) for 20 years after they join together.

One way he suggested would be a way to encourage companies to move forward with merging is if City Council committed to giving both companies’ annual allotment they get to the merged company.

If companies don’t merge, there will come a day when it won’t even be possible, he said.

“No one is forcing these fire companies to merge. They’re closing on their own,” he said.

One big roadblock to getting companies to merge is the connection older members have with their company.

“The older generation does not want to merge with another fire company,” Misstishin said, not that it doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal to the younger set.

“The history will always be there. It’s the future we need to worry about,” Misstishin added.

However, one major problem with that argument is that there isn’t much of a future generation signing up to be a volunteer firefighter in the city. The average age of volunteer Pottsville firefighter is 57 years old, he said.

READ MORE FROM THE POTTSVILLE BUDGET TALKS:

• Pottsville Facing $833K Deficit as Budget Talks Open

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