The Falcon Fire Protection District held its regular board meeting Dec. 11. All directors were present, except for Mike Smaldino, who participated via conference call. Attorneys Richard Shearer and Alan Call, legal counsel for the district, were also present.Public commentDick Stuart thanked the board for allowing public comment at the end of the meeting in addition to the beginning. Stuart asked director Greg Heule to put himself on the January agenda ìto address comments, questions, allegations, and any other discussion from the public, firefighters or colleagues that may arise regarding your perceived behavior these last several months.î Heule said he would consider the suggestion. Stuart also asked that his full public comments be attached to the official minutes posted online. After discussion, the board agreed that members of the public could request that their comments be attached to the official board meeting minutes.Treasurer’s reportChief Trent Harwig reported that, as of Nov. 30, 92 percent of the fiscal year was complete. The district had not received its revenue report from the county since the board meeting was scheduled a week earlier than usual to accommodate the county mill levy certification, which was due by Dec. 15.Revenue collections were still at 101 percent, pending November and December revenue reports. Expenses were at 90 percent of the budget. At the end of November, the district was about $12,000 under budget. ìWe are still working diligently to keep the district under budget,î Harwig said, adding that ìmajor expensesî still needed to be paid in December. By the end of the year, Harwig said the district should still be under budget, although barely.Rural Water Fund: No contributions were made in November. The balance is $90,069; 193 percent of the anticipated revenue has been collected, with expenditures at 1 percent.Chief’s reportThe 360 review has gone out to all paid personnel. Reservists are completing this survey as they come in for duty. The survey is expected to be complete in another couple of weeks.Despite precautions taken to prevent freezing, a water line froze and broke, flooding parts of Station 1 the weekend of Dec. 7.The doors have been replaced between the living quarters and the apparatus bay at Station 3. Harwig noted this is the first time the doors have been replaced since the station was built in 1980.2009 IFC adoptionThe El Paso County Board of County Commissioners voted to adopt a different version of the 2009 International Fire Code than the one presented by FFPD and six other fire districts. (See separate article)2014 budgetHarwig said the 2014 budget has been publicly posted since October, and the district did not receive any comments from the public. The administrative and operations portion of the budget supports four fire stations (two staffed, two unstaffed); 16 response vehicles; 18 paid full-time and eight paid part-time firefighters; four paid administrative support chiefs (which includes battalion chiefs and division chiefs of training and fire prevention); one paid part-time fleet mechanic; two paid full-time administrative personnel; about 34 volunteer firefighters, EMS, and support members; and district contributions to the volunteer firefighter pension fund. The general fund also includes the lease purchase of Station 1, which the district plans to pay off in 2015, and capital outlays. Harwig said these items are what the budget will support and do not necessarily reflect what is in place. He estimated that nearly three-quarters of the general fund budget is directly related to salary and benefits. The board voted to approve the 2014 budget.
