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COLUMBUS – A spirited debate on the effects of an emergency service district to taxpayers and local volunteer fire departments took place at the CVFD’s Oct. 2 town hall meeting.
Fire Marshal Brent Allen Gorman educated residents on the benefits of an ESD and listened to concerns from the crowd that gathered for the discussion. It was the second of four planned meetings as the volunteer fire departments of Columbus, Frelsburg and Bernardo push for the increased funding from tax dollars that comes with the creation of an ESD that includes the three areas.
“Every department in this county is 100 percent volunteer,” Fire Marshal Gorman said, “And they’re not largely funded by their taxes and depend on fundraisers for survival.”
A crowd of city officials, retired and current firemen as well as involved residents listened to Gorman’s presentation on the station’s support towards ESDs. The formation of Colorado County’s first ESD will be on the Nov. 7 amendment elections ballot.
Donations and fundraisers are the sole revenue for volunteer fire departments, and according to Gorman, would never be able to match the cost for necessary equipment and annual testing. An ESD assists with the cost by creating a new taxing district for the homes inside its area. Taxpayers in the area would see an increase of 10 cents for every $100 of value for their property.
Currently, the maximum value the proposed ESD can accrue is $1.3 million that will be distributed by need to the VFDs of Columbus, Bernardo and Frelsburg.
However, with the Home stead and o v e r - 65 property tax exemptions, the ESD will likely not be able to reach that maximum value.
With a predicted population boom, the amount of revenue from new homes and properties will increase the available budget for the local fire departments.
Gorman states that an ESD will help provide departments that are already stretched thin an opportunity to spend less time focused on revenue building fundraisers and more time focused on training recruits and responding to calls.
According to the information presented about the CVFD: 86 percent of their budget is provided by the city while accounting for just 33 percent of fire calls.
County areas outside of city limits account for just 26 percent of their budget despite making up 67 percent of the calls.
After an all-time high for calls during 2022, Gorman and the stations believe an ESD will help close the gap between city funding and county funding.
There was a myriad of concerns discussed at the meeting as residents questioned the potential effect of a new ESD. Some retired firemen expressed worry that accepting tax revenue would eventually lead to paid departments and effectively end the volunteer firefighting movement in the area.
Gorman explained that while paid departments could be a potential effect down the line, there is not enough money in the short term to pay the high cost for a competitive firefighting wage. He went on to say that most of the money received by the ESD will go towards paying the inflating cost of equipment and fire engines while the VFDs continue their normal operations. The funds will also be used for safety improvements and repairs in the stations themselves.
Some residents concerned about the potential ‘double tax’ for the fire services from the city tax and the ESD tax were addressed by Mayor Lori Ann Gobert as she explained the city’s reasoning for accepting the ESD plan. Gobert explained that the lifesaving equipment needed to keep firefighters safe during calls is simply too expensive for VFDs as constructed to be able to match.
“Does anybody want another taxing entity? No. Does anybody want to pay more taxes? No,” Mayor Gobert said, “But from all the information we’ve been playing around with for well over a year, this is the least expensive fix to people not only in the city, but in the county as a whole that distributes it equitably.”
Residents will continue to weigh the benefits of having a well-funded fire department against the burden of an increased tax this month as the amendment elections approach on Nov. 7.
There will be two more town halls in the coming weeks before polling begins. The first will be on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at the Bernardo Fire Station, 2845 FM 949 in Cat Spring. The second will be back at the Columbus Fire Station, 602 Spring St. Both will begin at 6 p.m.
