Black Forest Fire/Rescue Protection District, Dec. 4 – 2025 budget approved; mill levy increases; ladder truck/apparatus for sale; overstaffing declared

2025 budget and mill levy certification
Additional revenue was received
Ladder truck to be sold
Fire chief position advertisement and qualifications
Future operations explored
Department staffing
Station 2 mold investigation
2025 fee schedule
2025 district election

By Natalie Barszcz

At the Black Forest Fire Rescue Protection District (BFFRPD) meeting on Dec. 4, the board approved the 2025 budget with a 2% wage increase and certified a mill levy increase. The board approved the sale of several apparatus to include the aerial ladder truck purchased in 2022 and heard the department was overstaffed and heading toward a fiscal cliff.

The board discussed and approved the fire chief job posting criteria, a 2025 board director election, and discussed receiving presentations in January from three fire departments regarding a potential contract for service, or a fire authority.

2025 budget and mill levy certification

The board held a long discussion on how much the mill levy should be increased before Chair Nate Dowden requested the board adopt the 2025 budget, summarizing the expenditures and revenues and certifying the mill levy at 15.65 mills, up from 14.951 mills in 2024. The mill levy increase was set higher in accordance with the voter approved de-Gallagher provision that allows the district to match lost revenue due to a reduction in the Residential Assessment Rate set at 6.75%.

The increase is intended to recoup about $212,000 in anticipated property tax revenue loss. A loss of about $82,000 is anticipated, but the board decided not to implement a 16.06 mill levy to recoup the full loss. The final assessed value from the county assessor had not been received at the time of the meeting. The district expects about $4.780 million in property tax revenue and overall revenue of about $6.650 million. The district will begin 2025 with a balance of about $1.874 million for general operations and estimates a total budget of $8.524 million for the general operation of the district, with about $6.650 million in total expenditures. See https://wp.ocn.me/v24n11bffrpd/.

The board unanimously approved the resolution adopting the budget, appropriating funds, increasing employees’ wages by 2%, and certifying a 15.65 mill levy.

Administrative Officer Rachel Dunn said the wage and leave schedule includes a salary increase for the fire chief position from $146,000 to $170,000 and adds three battalion chief positions at $113,239 each.

Additional revenue was received

The 2025 budget anticipates reimbursement of about $373,301 in 2025 for SB23-001. The district was notified via letter from the state in May 2024 that the district would receive a total of $477,869 to backfill the district for lost property tax revenue after the Legislature passed SB23-001 and SB22-238 in November 2023. The former fire chief and Dunn confirmed the additional revenue was received with the March/April property tax revenue at the May board meeting. The 2024 budget records a separate line indicating the district received $373,301 for SB23-001. See https://wp.ocn.me/v24n6bffrpd/.

Ladder truck to be sold

Interim Fire Chief Josh Bartlett requested the board consider liquidating some assets, and suggested selling Engine 713, the Aerialscope ladder truck that cost $250,000, the district purchased about $75,000 in equipment for the truck that could be sold separately. He said Pierce Manufacturing, Seagraves, and Front Range Apparatus will not work on the Aerialscope or the chassis. It will be difficult to find a mechanic to work on the apparatus to bring the ladder truck up to specifications to pass the required UL certification, before placing the truck into service, he said.

Even if the district purchased another chassis, no one will work on the apparatus, and to rewire the entire truck rear to bumper could cost from $100,000 to $200,000, but the Aerialscope would still have 3.5 inches of slack in it, rotating like a “Lazy Susan” and need new bearings manufactured. If the Aerialscope were removed, the truck would eventually be a $500,000 apparatus to move $13,000 worth of ladders around after the electrical rewiring repair, said Bartlett. See https:/wp.ocn.me/v24n11bffrpd/.

Vice Chair Kiersten Tarvainen said, “The district would be continuing to throw good money after bad to make the repairs.”

Bartlett also suggested the sale of the following:

The old tender on loan to Hanover Fire Department (HFD), worth about $40,000 to $50,000. HFD has asked to buy the tender. Alternatively, the district could keep the old tender in reserve and deploy the new tender for wildland deployments. The apparatus would need two personnel to deploy, and one tender would require emptying of water during the winter months. Or the district could rely on mutual aid instead of a reserve tender.
A pickup truck with a flatbed that will be available after four Type 6 brush truck apparatus are built out.
A leaking Becker pumper truck (used for training purposes) that cannot be used for front line activity, would cost about $4,000 to repair, and is only worth about $2,000.

The more apparatus the district retains, the more maintenance costs are incurred, storage is limited and water carrying apparatus must be housed indoors during cold temperatures to avoid freezing or require emptying and refilling with water seasonally if stored outside. The department must decide if it is worth keeping and maintaining the excess apparatus that previous command staff found and acquired, said Bartlett.

The board tabled the sale of the tender and the pickup truck until spring, and unanimously approved the sale of the leaking Becker training pumper, and Engine 713, the 1979 aerial ladder truck mounted on a 2005 Pierce chassis, consigned as is for collector/display use only for 60 days starting at $50,000 and subject to negotiation. After that, the apparatus will go to auction.

Fire chief position advertisement and qualifications

Bartlett suggested the qualifications for the advertisement for a permanent fire chief and said the requirements had not changed from the workshop discussion in November, and he recommended a bachelor’s degree minimum education, and/or 10 years progressive fire service experience, and 5 years in a command role. Most fire chiefs do not go out in the field and respond to operational calls, but the district had the exception with the previous chief because that was his background. When that happens the fire chief is not performing administrative tasks.

He recommended the following:

All future personnel be hired in compliance with the industry standards, conducting a formal background check, a lie detector test, a medical evaluation, and take the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory psychological tests.
Use governmentjobs.com to build the application, with an application link at www.bffire.org.
The department is struggling without a built out human resources process for hiring practices, and the hiring process should be the same across the board for all future hiring.

After a lengthy discussion regarding the minimum level of education and the amount of progressive fire service experience, the board unanimously approved a job specification and a posting to invite people to apply for the fire chief position.

Future operations explored

Bartlett said he had approached four fire chiefs regarding a merger, unified fire authority, or contract for services with the department. Fire Chief Trent Harwig of Falcon Fire Protection District does not have any interest in any future with the district. However, Fire Chief Andrew York of Cimarron Hills Fire Department (CHFD), Fire Chief Randy Royal of Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD), and Fire Chief Andy Kovacs of Monument Fire District (MFD) are interested in the possibility of any of the three options and have experience in consolidations.

Since the district does not have command staff, the time is right to have the conversation, but all three fire chiefs said the department is not right sized for the district, it is heavy on staff for two stations, the amount of revenue does not match, and the district should downsize to one station and one ambulance for the existing call volume. The district is short on revenue by $296,000 for next year, and that shortfall could possibly increase to $500,000 in 2026. There is a strong possibility the district will eventually be surrounded by new developments requesting to be annexed into Colorado Springs, said Bartlett.

Dowden said downsizing could open up the potential to sell real estate at Station 2. The station was built in 2008 and is newer than Station 1, and Kovacs is purchasing 2 acres of land in Monument, so does that change the budgetary situation if BFFRPD has excess real estate assets available. “I don’t think anyone is prepared to wrestle this bear to the ground tonight and it requires a much broader discussion if we are overstaffed, and how do we reach the target level of service,” and he thanked Bartlett for exploring the options with other departments. It is good information, but there are a lot of moving parts in the equation, he said.

Bartlett said Station 2 does not look like Station 1, and the interested departments will only pursue a unified fire authority or contract for services due to the complexity of the mill levy discrepancies. The department is heading toward a financial cliff, and staffing levels should be 16 not 30 personnel, he said. But without command staff running the district, the stations would become integrated into the operations of either CSFD, MFD, or CHFD, with savings up to $700,000 per year on executive staff and the potential for Dunn to run a wildland division out of Station 2, offsetting the cost for service with a neighboring district.

CSFD and MFD would be optimal for district staff promotions and higher pay, but it would not be optimal to choose CHFD due to the separation of distance, however the pay is still better than BFFRPD, said Bartlett.

Acting Capt. Chad Herdt said CSFD would not be ideal for him as a Fire Officer 2 to take a drop in rank to firefighter, negating all his previous time and effort achieving the qualification. The change in shift structure would triple his monthly mileage traveling from Parker, but he would welcome moving to MFD, transferring as a lieutenant, with a $20,000 pay increase, and maintain the same 48/96 shift schedule, and end up doing less, said Herdt.

Dowden said the job posting should be modified to stipulate the board is considering other service delivery models, there is too much research to be done, and if the board delays tonight and does not take any action, kicking the topic down the road, we are also boxing ourselves in to a contract for service, he said.

Tarvainen said the board is not necessarily being forced into a contract for service, or a fire authority, but needs more information to decide a course of action before the next meeting to ensure the district does not begin an unnecessary lengthy hiring process.

Treasurer Jack Hinton said he needs more information and all the facts and has always supported the department staff, but he also works for the constituents and will need to know that the response times and the staff qualifications are equal, and another Black Forest Fire will not occur. The level of service will need to be a good deal for the residents, he said.

Director Jim Abendschan said the board should cool its heels hiring a chief and leave the interim chiefs in place before the board heads down the same road again, and do some research. He suggested the board hold a workshop and receive presentations on the potential for a unified fire authority or a contract for services from the three fire departments, hiring a fire chief immediately is not the right idea.

Director Chad Behnken agreed with Abendschan, and Tarvainen, and said receiving all the information to make an informed decision either way is the correct course of action.

Dowden and Hinton questioned the boards position if another department were running the district.

Bartlett said the board contracts with a fire chief every day, and a contract with another agency would not be that different. The board would continue to function as usual, be relevant running meetings, and the contract agency fire chief would attend the meetings every month, updating the board, discussing the districts needs, and formulating the annual budget.

Dowden said he would contact the districts legal counsel Linda Glesne to provide clarity and direction for the board.

Department staffing

Bartlett said it would benefit the department to not enroll anyone in the fire academy but wait until graduates are available to hire and avoid the training cost. He also suggested part-time wildland technicians instead of seasonal hires to allow for step-progression promotions. A firefighter had left the department to join a tech company.

Dunn said it is a challenge to annually find and retain seasonal wildland technicians. The district made about $173,000 from wildland deployments in 2022 and about $249,000 in 2023, but the deployments were significantly less in 2024, and the Type 3 wildland engine did not deploy due to frame damage, so revenue is only expected to be about $78,000, she said.

Bartlett said it is more cost effective to leave apparatus deployed out of state during wildland fire season, swap crews out using commercial flights, and save on apparatus wear and tear and costly replacement tires.

Station 2 mold investigation

Bartlett said due to the large amount of snow melting through a vent into the basement, mold is present at Station 2. Mold type testing is being conducted to determine the type of mold, and heaters will be used to keep mold at bay.

Hinton said some mold spores can send people to the intensive care unit.

Dowden suggested immediate action be taken to install portable de-humidifier units—they are relatively inexpensive, he said.

Bartlett said research will be conducted to find the correct-sized unit for the square footage.

2025 fee schedule

Dunn presented the board with the 2025 fee schedule, and said it was exactly the same as the 2024 schedule with no revisions. The board discussed the fees and unanimously approved the schedule with $35 per hour (the first hour is free) for the Colorado Open Records Act requests, and $100 for the actual costs of publishing notices and the legal paperwork for property inclusions, actual costs for exclusions, and the actual costs for sub-division plan reviews.

2025 district election

The board unanimously approved the 2025 regular district election of board directors, appointing Dunn as the designated election official. Self-nomination forms will be accepted through close of business on February 28, for the May 2025 election. Directors Behnken, Dowden and Tarvainen’s seats expire in 2025.

The meeting adjourned at 11:13 p.m.

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Meetings are usually held on the third Wednesday of the month at Station 1, 11445 Teachout Road, Colorado Springs. Meetings are open to the public in person or via Zoom. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. For joining instructions, updates, agendas, minutes, and reports, visit www.bffire.org or contact admin@bffire.org or call 719-495-4300.

Natalie Barszcz can be reached at nataliebarszcz@ocn.me