The Falcon Fire Protection District held its regular monthly board meeting Jan. 20. All board members were present, as well as Richard Shearer, legal counsel for the district.Treasurerís reportFire Chief Trent Harwig reported that the district received $86,402 more in revenue than anticipated at the beginning of 2015. He said part of that revenue came from an increase in special ownership taxes because vehicle sales were at an all-time high. Another $38,000, received from a state firefighter safety grant, was used to purchase protective gear for firefighters.Harwig said the district underspent the budget by about $218,000. ìWe had some costs we didnít expect, but overall we were well under budget,î he said.He noted that legal fees have been far less than in previous years. Spending on salaries was less because two employees were on short-term disability for part of the year. The district was also under budget on capital purchases because the land purchase for Station 4 did not occur in 2015, as originally planned.Harwig said budget savings from 2015 will be used for expenses related to Station 4 in 2016.StatisticsFFPD responded to 173 calls for service in December, bringing the total for 2015 to 2,008 incident responses, four fewer than in 2014.In 2015, FFPD District 1 had the most incidents, followed by District 3 and District 4. District 4 is expected to gain about 200 calls per year when Station 4 opens, because FFPD crews will respond to incidents currently covered by the Colorado Springs Fire Department under a Memorandum of Understanding with FFPD.Attorneyís reportAttorney Richard Shearer said legal fees were 22 percent of the 2015 budgeted amount; in part, because there were few personnel matters. ìThis board works together in a professional and constructive manner, unlike the previous board that drove up attorneyís costs,î he said.Shearer asked directors to put the boardís bylaws on the agenda for mid-year. ìTheyíre not bad, but they could use some tuning up,î he said.Community Wildfire Protection PlanThe board voted unanimously to approve the CWPP, with some minor typographical corrections. Keith Worley, who was hired by the district to develop the CWPP, said, ìThis is really just a starting point, a foundation to build on. Itís going to take the citizenry to realize they have a fuels problem.î The CWPP is posted on the district website. See this monthís FFPD column for more information about the CWPP.Station 4At a special board meeting Jan. 13, the board approved the land purchase contract for Station 4.At the regular meeting, the board discussed and approved a contract for soils testing related to the land purchase for Station 4. They also discussed and approved a Request for Proposal to design and build the station.All bidders attended a mandatory pre-bid meeting that took place Feb. 1. All bids are due March 1.2016 Pay Leave and Allowance ScheduleThe board adopted the 2016 Pay Leave and Allowance Schedule in its entirety.Records Request PolicyThe board unanimously approved a records request policy that allows the district to charge for documents that are not readily available or require extensive research or work to compile. The FFPD policy is comparable to others reviewed, and follows the state statute. Charges must reflect actual costs associated with fulfilling the request, and will not exceed $30 per hour and 25 cents per page. This policy is included in the districtís transparency notice.
