INNIS — In Pointe Coupee Parish, two of its five fire districts believe they could run out of money in just a matter of months.

During Saturday's election, Fire Districts 1 and 2, which cover about 300 square miles around the Morganza Spillway, each had a millage on the ballot to fund their operations.

For District 1, which covers the Innis, Batchelor, and Lettsworth area, residents were asked to renew the fire district's millage rate of 6.8 mills, which would generate about $240,000 annually. It failed to pass by just 17 votes.

"It's roughly 50% of district one's revenue," District 1 and 2 Fire Chief Jeremy Waldrop said.

In District 2, which covers the Morganza area, residents were asked to vote on a millage increase to 15 mills, generating $285,000 each year. It also failed by 17 votes.

"There aren't many more cuts we can make. We cut $300,000 out of last year's budget here. We've had cuts as far as insurance, we've cut their time, and they've stuck it out," Waldrop said.

Waldrop says it cannot operate at their current capacity without funding.

"In theory, we were supposed to be out of money last summer, and in theory we might be able to go through next summer, but that's optimistic," Waldrop said.

He added that the results of the two millage votes could negatively affect the district's fire rating, which could subsequently increase insurance premiums for residents.

"This is going to be catastrophic to the rating. Right now, District One is in a rating year. This could possibly lead to us cutting from two firefighters a day to one. This could catastrophically impact insurance rating," Waldrop said.

Every fire district in the state is evaluated and assigned a protection class rating from 1 to 10. Waldrop says District 1 is at a 5. The lower the number, the lower the homeowners' insurance premiums.

Pointe Coupee Parish President Major Thibaut says conversations about whether Pointe Coupee's fire protection setup needs to change have gone on for two years. Currently, the parish has five protection districts with five separate millages.

"I think that this expedites that conversation, and the policy makers are going to have to decide whether or not there needs to be some type of change. Do you need to merge some of the districts? Should we go to a consolidated parish tax where everybody has the same millage?" Thibaut said.

Morganza Mayor Clarence Wells says he feels confident that if these millages go back on the ballot, possibly in November, that they'll pass, saying the fire district is important for more than just fire response.

"Eighty-five percent of the emergency calls are for medical. An ambulance in Pointe Coupee Parish may be 40 miles away. It may take them 45 minutes to get here, but if I call the fire department, they will be here within three to four minutes," Wells said.