Q: What will the additional funds be used for?

The additional revenue will be added into the General Operating budget.  The additional revenue will support:

• Correcting current staffing and operational funding gaps caused by the state assessment rate drops that have reduced our revenue.
• Support capital funding shortfalls district wide, identified in our most recent Impact Fee study
• Fund and Build and Fire Station in the Three Springs/Grandview area
• Hire personnel for the new Fire Station

Q: When was the last time Durango Fire Protection District asked for an increase in funding?

Our last mill rate increase approved by the voters occurred in 2017

Q: Why are there two ballot questions?

The Durango Fire Protection District includes County Residents within our District boundaries.  The City of Durango is not in the Durango Fire Protection District.  Emergency services are provided to the City of Durango via a Contract.  The City of Durango does not have an internal fire department.

Ballot Question 7A is for District/County Voters
Ballot Question 2 A is for City Voters

The map image below shows properties within the DFPD in red and City properties in pink

 Q: Why can't Durango Fire fund this via a non-taxable bond?

There is no such thing as a non-taxable bond.  The Fire District could have gone for a bond, that the taxpayers would have to approve to fund and would raise taxes to repay, just as they did for 9R last year.  A Bond does not allow for operational costs, only capital costs.  It also doesn’t fund on-going capital costs, i.e. ambulance replacements are happening annually based on their mileage, so it is an on-going capital cost. To open a fire station at Three Springs requires capital money and operational money to fund the crews. We need ongoing revenue for operations AND capital.

Q: Is there a master plan for the growth of 3 springs?

Yes, and this would primarily be a City of Durango question.  However, the current and immediately projected growth (projects in the review process) are adding over 2000 residential units, not including the hotel, school and assisted living facility.

Q: How do the two initiatives interact with each other? Are 2A and 7A two different issues? Do they both need to pass in order for the property tax to be raised?

Because the City of Durango is not in the fire district, we cannot place a question on the City ballot.  Only City Council can do that.  So it is basically the same question, with some minor differences based on assessed value (district is higher than the City, that is why the questions shows a higher dollar amount in the district than the City, yet the math is applied equally and fairly), and legal differences with the City being Home Rule and the District being a Special District. And yes, it does need to pass in both locations before the tax can be collected.  This is actually stated in each question.

Q: What are the funds to be used for specifically?

The breakdown in the funding is as follows:  Station construction and loan repayment: $1.1 million per year for 15 years. 21 staff members, with benefits to cover 3 shifts, 24/7: $2.1 million dollars/year

Current need for capital funding based on legislative cuts: $1M/year based on our rational nexus study.

Current need for operational funding based on legislative cuts (including Medicaid cuts): $1.8M.  This is the need for more firefighters and equipment.  It costs $14,000 per firefighter to be fully equipped; bunker gear, airpack mask and regulator, wildfire PPE, radio.

Q: Why does the city of Durango need more money for build and staff a new fire station in Three Springs? Wasn’t a new one just built?

The District is not part of the City of Durango, the District is a separate governmental institution that provides service to the City and District, increasing efficiency and improving service over the separated 4 agencies that came together in the consolidation in 2002.  The station that was recently built downtown was the culmination of 40 years of work to identify and re-build a station in the core of the city. Yes, a new station was just built in the city, however the proposed Three Springs Station is an additional station in a different location increasing coverage to the Three Springs area along with the southern area of La Plata County in the Fire District. Why we need additional revenue is because we do not have a tax base sufficient to provide the funding for the crew and the building at Three Springs.  Just that station and crew, without equipment or trucks, will cost $3.3 million per year, with costs increasing annually.