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OCN > 2402 > Donald Wescott Fire Protection District, Jan. 4 and 24 – 2024 mill levy certified; tight timeline to complete merger

Donald Wescott Fire Protection District, Jan. 4 and 24 – 2024 mill levy certified; tight timeline to complete merger

By Natalie Barszcz

The Donald Wescott Fire Protection District (DWFPD) board met on Jan. 4 to certify the 2024 mill levy and hear about the subdistrict dissolution and to discuss meeting date changes needed to complete the district merger by the end of 2024. The board discussed a pre-inclusion intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District dba Monument Fire District (MFD). On Jan. 24, the board accepted the pre-inclusion IGA, decided the future board members, and accepted a revised 2024 board meeting schedule.

Director Mike Forsythe was excused on Jan. 4, and Secretary Charles Fleece was excused on Jan. 24.

2024 mill levy certification

Fire Chief Andy Kovacs said the expected loss of property tax revenue for 2024 will be about $228,000 for the district (based on 21.4 mills), and about $747,000 for MFD (based on 18.4 mills), for a total of about $975,000. The El Paso County Assessor’s Office does not have the software to differentiate between the loss of revenue from the Residential Assessment Rate (RAR) and the $55,000 rooftop adjustment, so the district cannot backfill by adjusting the mill levy to compensate for the $55,000 per rooftop loss. Assurance from the state that 100% of the lost revenue will be received by the district in March or April, he said. See www.ocn.me/v24n1.htm#dwfpd.

Background: In 2024, the RAR dropped to 6.7% and the amount of redemption on property tax value increased from $15,000 to $55,000.

District attorney Emily Powell of Ireland Stapleton Pryor Pascoe PC law firm, attending via Zoom, said for 2024 the state will need to pick up 100% of the revenue loss as a result of the adjusted RAR and the $55,000 reduction to the assessed valuation for each property.

In a 3-0 vote, the board certified the general operating mill levy at 21.4 mills for 2024.

District merger process update

Powell said the first phase of the merger was complete after her office received the official election results from El Paso County in December. A request to the district court to issue an order of dissolution for the sub-district was then filed. As of Dec. 27, the order of dissolution was filed with the county Clerk and Recorder Office and DWFPD is one district with one mill levy.

The second phase of the process has begun and will involve legally merging the boundaries of DWFPD and MFD. The merging of the boundaries will be done by utilizing the property inclusion and exclusion processes set forth in Parts 4 and 5 of the Special District Act. The transfer is allowed without an election because DWFPD is moving to a lower taxing district and property owners will save money when the merger is complete. The process will be intense, and the merger is expected to be complete by the end of 2024.

The goal is to complete 99.9% of the property transfer by April 30 to ensure the process will not bleed into early 2025. The Assessor’s Office will backdate the property transfer on the tax rolls to Jan. 1, 2024 and MFD will begin receiving the property tax revenue Jan. 1, 2025. If the deadline is not met, the board will continue meeting to transfer revenue to MFD for another year, until MFD can begin receiving the revenue via the Assessor’s Office on Jan. 1, 2026.

Powell presented the board members with a document laying out the timeline of the projects and a document proposing a pre-inclusion IGA with MFD, and she requested two or three board members be identified to remain on the board to assist with the final dissolution of DWFPD. The personal residences of the remaining two board members would be the final 0.1% of the property remaining in the district, to be transferred at the end of 2024. The Sun Hills Fire Station is expected to be transferred to MFD, because a dissolved district cannot keep it, but a discussion should ensue if there are concerns, she said.

President Mark Gunderman and Treasurer Duane Garrett elected to move onto the MFD board in May to replace directors Roger Lance and Tom Tharnish. Both MFD board directors had previously requested retiring from the board in 2024. Fleece and Forsythe remain Wescott board members to assist with the completion of the merger.

Powell said the property owners of the district will receive a mailer in early February explaining the process of the merger, the benefits to the property owners, and the resulting drop in mills after the merger is completed. The mailer will include an invitation for property owners to attend a public hearing at Station 1, 18650 Highway 105, Monument on March 6 at 4 p.m.

The board adopted the pre-inclusion IGA with Tri-Lakes Monument Protection District dba Monument Fire District, 3-0 on Jan. 24.

Powell requested the following revised meeting dates be approved to align with the merger process schedule:

  • March 6
  • April 24
  • June 12
  • June 26 (includes Volunteer Pension Board meeting)
  • July 24
  • Sept. 25
  • Nov. 20

In a 3-0 vote, the board adopted the revised board meeting schedule on Jan. 24.

For more information on the combined district activity, see the MFD article below and the Snapshots section on page < 15 >.

The Jan. 4 meeting adjourned at 12:58 p.m. The Jan. 24 meeting adjourned at 5:13 p.m.

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Meetings are typically held on the fourth Wednesday at Station 1, 18650 Highway 105. The next regular meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 6 at 4:30 p.m., preceded by a public hearing at 4 p.m. For Zoom meetings instructions, agendas, minutes, and updates, visit www.monumentfire.org or contact Director of Administration Jennifer Martin at 719-484-9011.

Natalie Barszcz can be reached at nataliebarszcz@ocn.me.

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