A few months ago, the Falcon fire department was looking for citizens interested in volunteering on a communications and budget sustainability committee. I went to the meeting to see if I could be of some help in this area considering my background as a volunteer fire fighter and assistant fire chief, now retired.What the Falcon fire department is looking for is input from its residents, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. You have all heard how the assessed values on property in El Paso County is going down and how that will affect all agencies supported by property tax. What you may not know is that this is the ONLY income for the Falcon Fire Department and they are expecting a 15 percent reduction next year. It also became clear that not everyone knows which fire department they pay property tax to and is therefore responsible for their protection. The confusion comes when many of our addresses are Peyton, Colorado but we are served by and pay taxes to the Falcon Fire Protection District.The men and women of the Falcon fire department wish to keep the high standards of their department going, but need to know what you, the citizens of the district, expect and want from them. Effectively, they need to know what level of service you expect and are willing to pay for with your property taxes.You can contact fire chief Trent Harwig directly at tharwig@falconfirepd.org with your thoughts or any information you can provide to help the district make the right decisions based on the expectations of their citizens. Board meetings are open to the public and are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 4 p.m. at the fire station located at Highway 24 and Meridian Road.Remember, it’s your tax dollars and you should have a say in how they are spent. The department needs your input.- Dave Bacharach
