The proposed establishment of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District to provide fire and rescue services to the entire Estes Valley will go to the voters this November. Each week until the election the Fire Services Initiative Committee will answer questions submitted by the residents of the Estes Valley. Questions are being grouped by subject. This week the questions involve the wide variety of inaccurate myths floating around the community concerning the establishment of a valley-wide Fire Protection District.

Myth: After the first year, the Town has no obligation to provide any of their sales tax revenue to the Fire District.

Fact: This is a red herring. In the State of Colorado, ALL Inter-Governmental Agreements dealing with money issues are automatically renewed annually. In approving the Service Plan, the Town Board of Trustees and the County Commissioners understood that this is a continuing obligation. While the Inter-Governmental Agreement must be renewed annually, both parties must be in agreement. It would make no political or fiscal sense for the Town trustees to even attempt to change the funding formula. The Town and all of the Estes Valley residents are the major beneficiaries of this plan.

Myth: After the first year, the Town will yank the funding and tell the Fire District to raise their mill levy to fund the District.

Fact: The Town cannot “yank the funding” (see above), and any increase of the mill levy to fund the District would require the approval of the voters of the District. The Fire Protection District can never raise the mill levy on its own.

Myth: There is nothing unfair or inadequate about the current funding of the Fire Department.

Fact: It is inherently unfair for residents of the Estes Valley to pay different rates for fire and rescue services. The proposed plan treats all residents of the District the same, and treats all businesses of the District the same. Projections suggest that the costs of the Fire Department will grow to the point that the Town cannot support the Fire Department’s excellent services without some sort of new funding, either at the expense of some other Town services or by going to the voters for an increase in the Town property tax. The proposed plan was carefully worked out to avoid this problem far into the future.

Myth: The Town has tons of money—they should just continue paying for the Fire Department.

Fact: The Town is fiscally well managed, but only has operating reserves amounting to 10-15% of its operating budget—the amount recommended by GASB (Government Accounting Standards Board). The Town has been providing fire and rescue services to the residents of the Estes Valley for so long that some residents have begun to believe it is a right. It’s not. The cost of Fire Services (training, equipment, specialized technology, and safety protection materials) is escalating at a rate exceeding inflation and exceeding the growth in sales and property tax revenues. It is time for the voters to establish a permanent solution to the funding of our fire and rescue services. Residents and visitors each need to share in the funding of this vital service.

Myth: Our businesses are already providing funding through sales tax to fund the Fire Department.

Fact: Businesses serve as the collecting agent for sales tax, but in no way are the businesses paying this tax. It is a pass-through from the customers. The reality is that the proposed plan has determined that 7% of the collected sales tax will be the proper amount to help fund the District. This collection has no effect on the business owner’s sales tax collections. The sales taxes remain unchanged under this proposal. The only difference is that a portion of the sales tax revenues are passed to the District to help fund its operations.

Myth: The Town will get a windfall with changes in Fire Department funding. The Town is just trying to milk more revenue.

Fact: No. The Town will see no savings. 7% of the sales tax revenue is about the same as the amount of the current budget, and the Town will be losing several hundred thousand dollars of income from the collected subscription fees.

Myth: The Fire Department is extremely well-funded and has more than they need and the Town will always support everything the department wants.

Fact: Currently, the Fire Department is funded to their current operational needs. It’s important to realize that their funding depends on both Town funding and the funding that the Department itself raises through donations, subscription fees, and fundraisers. However, the Town has no provision for covering the projected increase in their needs as the demand for their services grows in the future.

If you have any questions concerning the proposed establishment of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District you can email them to Tom Anderson at     tanderson970@beyondbb.com or visit www.evfireservices.org.

The proposed establishment of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District to provide fire and rescue services to the entire Estes Valley will go to the voters this November. Each week until the election, the Fire Services Initiative Committee will answer questions submitted by the residents of the Estes Valley. Questions are being grouped by subject. This week, the questions involve fire department operations.

Q. What is the history of the Fire Department?

A. The Estes Park Volunteer Fire Department started in 1907. The Fire Department was all volunteer until 1999, when the first paid fire chief was hired. The Fire Department now has three paid staff members and thirty-eight volunteer firefighters.

Q. What’s wrong with the way the Fire Department is operated and funded today?

A. Nothing is wrong with the Fire Department operations, but the funding is neither sustainable nor adequate for the long term. The operations of the Fire Department will stay the same; there will still be a volunteer Fire Department with a few paid personnel just as it has been for the last ten years. The current system of funding the Fire Department is not equitable or reliable.

Q. There are only 5 or so fires each year, what else do the firefighters do?

A. On average, the firefighters respond to thirty-two fires per year. However, the firefighters provide many different services to the community including wildland fire suppression, structure fire suppression, vehicle fire suppression, motor vehicle extrications and rescue, search and rescue, dive and swift water rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue, low-angle rescue, fire rescue, emergency medical services, and hazardous materials response. In addition to the emergency responses, the Fire Department provides fire prevention education, fire extinguisher classes, wildland fire mitigation education, plan reviews, fire hydrant flow tests, fire safety education to schools, seniors, and businesses, fire inspections, child passenger safety seat inspections, and provides free smoke detectors.

Q. What are the firefighters’ responsibilities as emergency responders?

A. The first priority of the firefighters is life safety, followed by property conservation, and protecting the environment. They are responsible for the welfare of their fellow firefighters and the general public. They are also responsible to maintain their firefighting training, skills and certifications.

Q. What type of training do the firefighters have to have? How long does it take?

A. The initial firefighter training is about one-hundred-fifty hours at a fire academy. The firefighters attend the fire academy two evenings per week and every Saturday for about four months. After the academy, the firefighters continue to train on their basic firefighting skills and acquire more advanced skills and training and average over one-hundred hours of training per year. The firefighters are required to be certified for each of the different services they provide.

Q. How much time does each Firefighter devote to service?

A. Including the training, call response, fund drives, fire prevention and other non-emergency services, a firefighter averages over two-hundred hours per year.

Q. Does this mean donation drives and Fire Department fundraisers will go away?

A. Yes, for funding to support the Fire Department mission. However, the firefighters may still do fund drives for other causes like the Muscular Dystrophy Association on Labor Day weekend.

Q. What happens to the fire station and the Fire Department equipment?

A. Per an Intergovernmental Agreement between the Town of Estes Park and the Fire Protection District, all of the apparatus and equipment will be given to the Fire Protection District at no charge. The Town retains ownership of the Dannels Fire Station and will lease it to the District for one-dollar per year.

Q. Will the current Fire Department go away after the election?

A. The Estes Park Volunteer Fire Department will remain. The governing body for fire and rescue services will change from the Town of Estes Park to the Estes Valley Fire Protection District.

Q. If the voters approve the district, when will it become operational?

A. The district will become operational on January 1, 2010.

Q. If, after some period of time, the voters do not believe that the Fire Protection District is working as they thought it would, is there a way to dissolve the district?

A. Yes. State statute allows for the modification or dissolution of special districts. The voters always have the final say.

If you have any questions concerning the proposed establishment of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District you can email them to tanderson970@beyondbb.com or visit www.evfireservices.org.

The proposed establishment of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District to provide fire and rescue services to the entire Estes Valley will go to the voters this November. Each week until the election the Fire Services Initiative Committee will answer questions submitted by the residents of the Estes Valley.  Questions are being grouped by subject.  This week the questions involve more questions on taxes.

Q. Didn’t we just raise our taxes for the marketing district?

A. No. The Local Marketing District (LMD) that was just approved in November 2008 only levies a 2% tax on people who use the Estes Valley’s lodging facilities for less than 30 days. The LMD levies no property tax on the Valley residents.

Q. How does the proposed 1.95 mill property tax for the Fire Protection District compare with other Fire Protection Districts in the area?

A. Fire Protection Mill Levy in other nearby Fire Protection Districts:

Berthoud: 15.274 mills

Johnstown: 9.478 mills

Poudre Valley: 9.301 mills

Allenspark: 7.507 mills

Pinewood Springs: 6.336 mills

Loveland Rural: 5.808 mills

Q. I already pay too much for taxes. Why should I pay more?

A. Recently, Estes Valley fire and rescue services have been funded primarily by sales tax dollars in the Town’s General Fund, subscription fees, donations to the Fire Department, and fund raising efforts by the volunteer firefighters—not by property taxes from Town or county residents. The property taxes collected are not adequate to fund the fire services budget. Fire and rescue services are presently funded in competition with all Town departments and are supplemented by county subscription fees and fundraising efforts conducted by the Volunteer Fire Department. Unfortunately, the Town of Estes Park revenue has not grown at the rate of area population growth and hasn’t kept pace with the ever-escalating cost of providing services.

Q. What are all of the other mill levies in my property tax bill?

A. Your property taxes depend on where you live. Typically, residents of the Estes Valley have mill levies for Town property tax (if you live inside the Town limits), County, School, Hospital, Library, Recreation and Park District, Sanitation District, and maybe a few others. You can look at your recent tax bill from Larimer County to see the exact levies for your property. Here are the major mill levies that most Estes Valley property owners pay (check your property tax statement for additional mill levies such as sanitation districts, general improvement districts, etc.):

Q. Is there a way to figure out what my tax will be?

A. Yes. Take your recent tax bill from Larimer County and find the Assessed Value of your property on the bill. It will probably be near the upper right corner of your tax bill. Divide that number by 1,000 and multiply the result by 1.95. The result is the amount of your tax bill next year that is proposed to support the new Fire Protection District. Of course, all of the other assessments are already outlined on your tax bill and they will continue next year.

Q. How much will it cost me?

A. The direct cost for every property owner will be 1.95 mills ($1.95 for every $1000 of assessed property value). Sales tax is paid by everyone, with the vast majority of the sales tax coming from tourist season.

If you have any questions concerning the proposed establishment of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District you can email them to tanderson970@beyondbb.com.

The proposed establishment of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District to provide fire and rescue services to the entire Estes Valley will go to the voters this November. Each week until the election the Fire Services Initiative Committee will answer questions submitted by the residents of the Estes Valley. Questions are being grouped by subject. This week the questions involve the general costs of operating a fire department.

Q. Who pays for the Fire Department now?

A. The Fire Department is currently funded from a variety of sources, including the Town of Estes Park (from Sales tax revenue and 8% of the current property tax revenue), Subscription fees from people living outside the Town limits, grants, and donations and fund raising events conducted by the firefighters.

Q. Why does a Volunteer Fire Department cost so much money?

A. It takes a lot of money to provide for training, vehicles, equipment, maintenance, building overhead, insurance, volunteer pension, and to pay for the three full time employees of the department.

Q. If we go to an all-paid Fire Department, will my taxes go up again?

A. It would be extraordinarily expensive to fund an all-paid Fire Department. Any increase in taxes would have to be voted on by the voters in the Fire Protection District.

Q. Who will oversee the finances of the Fire Protection District? To whom are they accountable?

A. The finances (and the entire Fire Protection District) will be overseen by an elected independent board of directors, consisting of five directors elected at large from within the Fire Protection District, with staggered terms. They are accountable to the voters.

Q. What is the current Fire Department budget and what are the projected costs for the next few years? How did you arrive at those numbers?

A. The 2008 Fire Department Budget was $993,183. The projected budget for 2010 is $1,084,635 and $1,039,027 for 2011. The revenue projections are based on current budget values and expected annual changes in assessed valuations of properties, and from the Town of Estes Park (sales tax projection). The expense projections came from the Fire Department historical spending projected for the next few years.

Q. Who will own the fire equipment and station?

A.  The Town will transfer ownership of all of the vehicles and equipment to the Fire Protection District, but will retain ownership of the fire station, leasing it to the Fire Protection District for $1 per year.

If you have any questions concerning the proposed establishment of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District you can email them to Tom Anderson at    tanderson970@beyondbb.com or visit the website at www.evfireservices.org.

By Jacqueline Halburnt ~ Town Administrator

In 2008, the town of Estes Park began charging County residents for fire services including structural fires, motor vehicle accidents and odor investigations. An option is given to county residents to pay a $130 subscription fee. If the fee isn’t paid, and an incident occurs, a bill will be sent for services rendered based upon equipment usage and total response hours.

One of the most common questions asked by County residents is, “How much will an incident cost if I don’t pay the optional fee?”

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On December 29 at 10:42 p.m., police were called to 110 W. Elkhorn Ave. on the report that a man in the area had a concealed weapon. Upon arrival, officers found that the man had left the scene but they observed two juveniles who, as they watched officers arrive, fled on foot. Police caught up to the juveniles and upon checking identification, found the juveniles to be in possession of alcohol and a 19 year old male from Estes Park was charged with underage possession and consumption of alcohol and a marijuana offense and an 18 year old male from Estes Park was charged with underage possession and consumption of alcohol. They were later released.

On January 10 at 2:10 a.m., police were called to 875 Moraine Ave. on a report of a fight in progress. Upon arrival, officers found two males, a 41 year old and a 35 year old, intoxicated and involved in a fight. Officers took custody of the men and after receiving medical treatment, the 35 year old male was charged with third degree assault and later released and the 41 year old male was charged with second degree assault and transported to the Larimer County Detention Center.

Chief officers and safety officers generally respond in their personal vehicles (POV). Firefighters generally respond to medical calls in their personal vehicles unless otherwise noted. Response in POVs allows for faster response by officers and medical personnel to assess the emergency and provide medical care.

January 5
At 5:54 a.m. Fire medical personnel were paged to assist the Estes Park Ambulance. Two Firefighters responded to the call.

At 7:08 a.m. the Fire Department was paged to 806 Riverside Drive for a wood pile on fire. Eight Firefighters responded to the scene with Brush 9, Engine 2 and four POVs. Two Firefighters were on standby at the station.

At 10:58 a.m. Fire medical personnel were paged to assist the Estes Park Ambulance. Five Firefighters responded to the call.

January 7

At 9:37 a.m. Fire medical personnel were paged to assist the Estes Park Ambulance. Eight Firefighters responded to the call.

At 11:45 a.m. Fire medical personnel were paged to assist the Estes Park Ambulance. Six Firefighters responded to the call.

January 8

At 8:28 a.m. the Fire Department was requested to provide personnel and apparatus for the Old Stage Fire in Boulder County. Seven Firefighters responded with Brush 9 and Engine 10.

January 9

A Fire officer responded to 300 Riverside Drive to update information in a Knox Box.

January 10

At 3:23 p.m. Fire Medical personnel were paged to assist the Estes Park Ambulance. Four Firefighters responded to the call.