As of Monday, homeowners who live in one of the three expanded fire protection districts — Culkin, Bovina and Fisher Ferry — may have an opportunity to save big bucks on their homeowner’s insurance.

The Warren County Board of Supervisors gave final approval to the expansion of the Culkin, Bovina and Fisher Ferry fire protection districts.

Jerry Briggs, Warren County’s fire services coordinator, said when the original fire districts were created, they included limited residential area and the districts were drawn in a way to include only that development.

“For instance, the Culkin district only went out 2.8 miles from the fire station,”  Briggs said. However, the state allows a district to go out five miles in any direction from a fire station.

“So that’s what we did. We took each of these protection districts and stretched it out to the five miles,” he said. “They are all maxed out, unless they build another fire station, like the Flowers district is doing. Then, it can go out five miles from that fire station.”

The increased fire protection and subsequent positive fire rating, can literally save homeowners who are now in the district hundreds of dollars off their homeowners insurance.

Homeowners in the district will be taxed $40 per $100,000 of assessed value of their property, Briggs said.

However, those who own more than 159 acres of property have been automatically excluded from the district. Should they want to join the district, owners of that amount of acreage need to apply to do so, said Blake Teller, Warren County attorney.

“We did out best to contact any of these landowners, which are owned mostly by companies like Anderson Tulley,” Briggs said. “From a taxing or insurance point, there is really no benefit to the fire district or landowners because there typically are no structures there. The only concern is, if anyone who owns that number of acres or more decided to develop it or sell it off in parcels, those parcels would not be in the fire district, either. So that’s why, in the long run, it would be better to be in the district now.”

In other business Monday, supervisors:

• Held a public hearing to receive objections to the 2016 real and personal property assessment rolls. No one showed up to speak to the board. However, companies representing several commercial properties did contact the board with objections.

Supervisors will take those objections under advisement.

• Accepted the routine business of the office of Buddy Poole, road manager, which included terminating one employee and adding to the payroll two employees — Chantrey Davis and Clayton Cochran — who have completed their 90-day probationary period.

• Approved signing an interlocal cooperation agreement with 19 other Mississippi counties to seek bids for aerial photography used by Ben Luckett, tax assessor, and his office. Luckett said the aerial photography used by his department at present isn’t of an adequate resolution. And, the department is required to seek new aerial photography every 10 years. The county last aerial photography is five years old, Luckett said.

He said participating in the agreement to get the quote does not obligate Warren County to participate.

“If you don’t like the bid, you can opt out,” Luckett said. However, he said the Mississippi Department of Transportation is interested in using the photography also, and is willing to pay $10,000 toward its cost.

It’s hoped, Luckett said, if the counties work together, the cost of flying would be less expensive.

“We’re looking to get better photography at a good price,” Luckett said.

John Smith, Warren County administrator, said the cost of the last aerial photography was “something like $125,000.”

• Accepted the district attorney’s report of fines for June 2016.

• Accepted a variety of invoices for payment and requests from county administrator Smith. Once of those requests approved included closing the Messina Boat Landing on Eagle Lake for the Vicksburg Swim Association’s Gator Bait Endurance Challenge. The boat landing will be closed to the public from 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19, to noon on Saturday, Aug. 20.

• Accepted the report of Donna Hardy, Chancery Clerk, which included accepting monthly county reports for July 2016, approving the claims dockets for July 2016, approved the Justice Court settlements from June 21, through July 20, 2016, and accepted the port commission minutes for June 20, the parks and recreation board’s minutes for June 21 and the E-911 minutes for June 22.