The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Fewer volunteers and less money coming in
By Mark Reaman
The recent growth in tourism and increases in people moving to the valley, combined with a smaller volunteer pool, has pushed the Crested Butte Fire Protection District to seek a property tax increase to help pay for more emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and firefighters.
“Like many such departments, we are in transition,” CBFPD district manager Mike Miller told the Crested Butte Town Council at the September 5 meeting. “We are not unique. Volunteerism is declining in such departments and the need for personnel is increasing. Since 2013 we have had to hire five full-time employees.”
Miller said the number of volunteers with the EMS department is about half of what it was ten years ago. He said because of a decrease in assessed valuation with property in the district there is less money coming in annually.
“In 2011 we hit a high water mark for valuation at $442 million in the district. Then in 2015 it had dropped to $244 million,” he said.
Property valuations are readjusted in the county every two years so there is a lag when property values either increase or go down. The CBFPD collects property tax under a complicated formula that is currently based on 4.586 mills. Of that, collections from a 1.3 mill levy passed in 1998 and 2002 fluctuates the most. In 2011, the 1.3 mills brought in $574,000 while in 2016 it brought in $362,000. The entire mill levy collection in 2016 was approximately $1.3 million.
Miller explained the money goes toward personnel, equipment, maintenance of the four fire stations in the north end of the valley and the ongoing pension fund for those who have volunteered over the years.
“On the EMS side of things we have four full-time salaried employees who are EMTs. They are cross-trained to work in both the EMS and firefighter divisions,” said Miller. “To go fully paid we probably need six to seven more full-time people for a total of about 10 EMTs. On the fire side of things, we try to have three people on call all the time. In addition to fire chief Ric Ems, we have four salaried people and about 30 volunteers.”
In last four years Miller said the district expended $950,000 more than it took in as revenue and that is not sustainable for the budget, especially with the need to hire more people. The hope was that assessed valuation would bounce back to 2011 levels and no tax increase would likely be needed.
“The board decided the district needed people to be on call and respond to the need for service,” Miller said. “We drew down on our cash reserves to provide the necessary service but we can’t keep doing that. As a ski resort community we are sort of lucky to see property values increase like they are now but it’s not enough to fully fund the need we have to hire more and more EMTs and even some firefighters.”
Miller explained special districts don’t get to ask for sales taxes so they must rely on a property tax increase to fund the department. The CBFPD essentially covers the north end of the Gunnison Valley from Round Mountain up to Schofield Pass.
CBFPD board chair Paul Hird told the council if approved by voters the additional 3.5 mill levy tax would bring in about $1 million a year. He said it would cost $25 on every $100,000 of valuation, so a million-dollar house would pay about $250 more each year on its tax bill.
Hird said it is expected to cost about an additional $425,000 annually for a fully paid ambulance service. The cost of the fire department is still unknown and it would still need a sizeable number of volunteers to operate. Some of the money raised would also go to building a tri-plex on an affordable housing lot in town.
“We know it is a tax increase and no one likes that but we need people to deliver the service when the pager goes off,” said Miller. “Our current mill levy is sufficient for a volunteer department but not for a paid department.”
Hird said there are far fewer volunteers on the ambulance crew compared to when he was on it. “The reality is that people have families and jobs that are not as easy to get away from when a call comes in,” he said. “So we need to hire more people. We don’t see it getting any easier. All departments like ours are suffering the same volunteer issue. This is not unique to us at all.”
Hird said many people who get trained as firefighters or EMTs with the local department move away to use their skills more in a bigger city. “We are competing with bigger departments,” he said. “It’s a beautiful place to live but people also want to make a salary for what they are trained for. So we need to be more competitive.”
In a special district election, voters include not only residents of the district but also Colorado residents who own property within the district.
