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OCN > 2407 > Donald Wescott Fire Protection District, June 26 – Merger process prompts final transfers; 2023 audit unmodified

Donald Wescott Fire Protection District, June 26 – Merger process prompts final transfers; 2023 audit unmodified

By Natalie Barszcz

At the Donald Wescott Fire Protection District (DWFPD) meeting on June 26, the board received an update on the merger process with Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District dba Monument Fire District (MFD), held a public hearing, approved an exclusion of real property, and approved the transfer of a fire station, the Volunteer Firefighter Pension Fund (VFPF) plan, and a substantial fund balance to MFD. The board received and approved the presentation of the 2023 audit. The VFPF Board of Trustees held a meeting before the regular meeting.

District merger final transfer actions

Emily Powell of Ireland Stapleton Pryor Pascoe PC law firm, the district’s attorney, said the June and July district meetings are down to the final transfer actions. The following transfers were requested:

  • The VFPF be transferred to MFD for administration effective Aug. 1.
  • A substantial fund balance to MFD.
  • The Sun Hills Station (formerly DWFPD Station 3) serving two nonprofit emergency services and additional storage for MFD.
  • The exclusion of real property belonging to the two remaining board members. See www.ocn.me/v24n5.htm#dwfpd.

Powell recommended Wescott retain a fund balance of $65,000 to cover its attorney fees, and the District Court will act on the requests. The merger process is down to the end, she said.

President Charles Fleece asked if the retained sum would be enough in the event that any damage occurs at the Sun Hills property.

Powell said, after discussing the sum with Fire Chief Andy Kovacs, the anticipated $46,000 was bumped to $65,000 through the end of 2024, and MFD agrees to pay any outstanding bills.

District Administrative Officer Jennifer Martin said MFD pays the utility bills for the Sun Hills property.

Powell said the reason the two properties remain in the district is to allow the remaining board directors to continue dissolving the district. All of the other properties in the Wescott district were transferred in April onto the El Paso County Assessor’s books to be assessed under MFD for fire service and EMS beginning Jan. 1, 2025. The paperwork will be signed to transfer the two remaining properties before the end of 2024, said Powell.

Public hearing and approval

Powell opened a public hearing on the proposed exclusion of real property from the district and said the public hearing had been duly published as required by law. Upon hearing no public comments, the hearing was closed. The board was asked to approve the following:

  • The exclusion of real property, Resolution 24-04 approving the exclusion of the two remaining real properties belonging to the remaining board members. See www.ocn.me/v24n5.htm#dwfpd.
  • The quit claim deed transferring the Sun Hills Fire Station to MFD.
  • Joint assignment of the VFPF plan and joint letter authorizing direction on the plan.
  • A letter authorizing the Firefighters Police Pension Association (FPPA) requesting the transfer of the VFPF plan to MFD as the sponsoring employer.
  • The fund balance transfer to MFD.

The board unanimously approved and signed the resolutions and legal documentation for the requests.

2023 audit

Mitchell Downs of Erikson Brown and Kloster said the firm is now part of CBIZ. The decision was made by the partners to secure the staff due to a nationwide shortage of accountants. Downs presented the 2023 audit and said the district had five adjustments that occurred due to tweaking financial statements, one was requested by district staff and the other entries related to the VFPF. Most of the disclosures were also related to the VFPF. There was not a lot of activity, but nevertheless everything was focused on and tested. The district 2023 audit received a clean or unmodified opinion and will be electronically uploaded to the state portal. The district budget required significantly less work due to limited activity and cost less than the budgeted $16,000. The audit was completed with cross-referencing the MFD audit and available a month ahead of last year’s audit, said Downs.

The board approved the 2023 audit as presented.

Note: For more information, see the MFD article on page < 14 > and visit www.monumentfire.org.

The regular meeting adjourned at 5:33 p.m.

Volunteer Firefighter Pension Fund Board of Trustees meeting

Volunteer Firefighter Pension Fund Trustee Mike Badger requested the trustee status in regard to voting during meetings.

Powell confirmed the volunteer trustees are voting members of the board, and that in the past there had been a misuse of terms before her time reviewing the minutes. The trustee board members are the five board members and the two volunteers elected from among the membership, and at the next meeting when the VFPF will be managed by the MFD board the trustees will be seven members and the two volunteers elected.

The board approved the November minutes as published, 3-0. Treasurer/Secretary Mike Forsythe joined the meeting after the vote.

Allocation report

Kovacs requested the board review the allocation report and said no action was necessary.

Pension Fund status

Badger said the allocation spreadsheet was developed years ago to track the data from FPPA and the status of the VFPF. At the beginning of 2023, the fund began with $907,397 and ended the year with $914,896, just shy of a $7,500 increase after all payouts and fees were made. The fund always increased until the downturn and at one point the fund was down by about $150,000, but it is making a comeback. At the end of the first quarter of 2024, the fund had $930,000 and realized a gain of $15,134. The second-quarter figures will be made available at the Nov. 13 meeting. Sadly, some volunteer firefighters passed away, but when that happens the fund becomes healthier. The fund is doing well, said Badger.

Fund transfer

Powell said as part of the merger process, one of the final action items is the transfer of the VFPF to MFD as the sponsoring employer. That action will take place at the regular board meeting. The Wescott district will dissolve at the end of the year, but the fund does not go away and will carry on with the same benefits and beneficiaries. Several board actions in connection with the fund will happen at the following regular meetings later in the evening, effectively assigning all of the rights to MFD. MFD will set up a relationship with FPPA, and once approved and signed the documents will be sent to FPPA, and the process will likely be completed in July. The fund will remain wholly intact, with the same pool of volunteers, and kept separate, even though MFD does not have a volunteer firefighter pension plan. The Wescott volunteers will be the only recipients and should not experience any interruption in their benefits. The transfer will be totally transparent to the recipients, said Powell.

Badger thanked Martin for facilitating the dissemination of information and keeping the volunteer trustees informed.

The VFPF Board of Trustees meeting adjourned at 4:22 p.m.

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Meetings are usually held on the fourth Wednesday of the month. The next regular meeting is scheduled for July 24 at 4:30 p.m. at Station 1, 18650 Highway 105. For Zoom joining 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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