By LC Grady
July FFPD board meeting
The Falcon Fire Protection District held its regular board meeting on July 17 at the Falcon Fire Administration Building, 7030 Old Meridian Road. Directors Jim Reid, Dan Kupferer, Tom Kerby, Ray Hawkins and Steve Podoll were present. Also present were Fire Chief Trent Harwig and Attorney Joan Fritsche, legal counsel for the district.
Financial statements audit presentation
Daniel Slaymaker of CBIZ MHM, formerly EKS&H, presented the results of the financial statements audit to the board. The auditors issued a clean opinion on the district’s financials. They made minor recommendations, including a recommendation on how to keep books more efficiently; they thanked Harwig and administrative staff for excellent cooperation during the audit.
Treasurer’s report
Harwig presented the treasurer’s report. He reported that 50% of the fiscal year was complete as of June 30. The General Fund received 69% of its budgeted revenues. Expenditures across all fund categories were at 46%. Special ownership tax came in at 54%. The Ambulance Transport Fund has received 51% of the budgeted revenues. Transport fees were at 52%. Expenses across all categories in the fund are 40% — 10% under the annual budget. The Capital Projects Fund was at 51% of budgeted revenues, and expenses are currently at 15% because of the fleet maintenance building. The Rural Water Fund had no activity.
Fire inspections
Lt. Curtis Kauffman informed the directors that there were 12 fire inspections, two follow-up building inspections, three fire finals, two El Paso County development reviews and one fire evaluation performed in June.
Staff/operations reports
Deputy Chief Jeff Petersma presented the numbers for May. There were 336 calls in May, with rescue and emergency medical services accounting for 224 calls, 51 good intent calls, 23 service calls, 22 false alarms, nine fire calls, six hazardous conditions calls, and one severe weather and natural disaster call. The total year-to-date call volume was 1,674 of all agency calls and 1,344 in district calls, excluding mutual aid or automated calls. Petersma pointed out that District 4 was getting busier than District 3, which has not been typical. EMS Chief Jon Webb gave an update on June ambulance activity. He said there were 121 transports. Webb informed the board that there were discrepancies in the reporting from the billing agency regarding the revenues collected, and he was waiting for a response to his email. Harwig said that actual collections were not out of the ordinary so the issue is likely in the reporting only.
Attorney report
Fritsche gave the board a 2024 legislative session update and focused on bills affecting the district as well as a summary of the initiatives 50 and 108. She discussed Senate Bill 24-233, signed on May 15 by Gov. Polis, as one with the most potential to affect the district. SB 24-233 places a growth limit of 5.5% on qualified property tax revenue collected by local government. Other bills mentioned included SB 24-131, Prohibits Carrying Firearms in Sensitive Spaces; HB 24-1220, Workers’ Compensation Disability Benefits; SB 24-160, Records of Workplace Discrimination Complaints; and SB 24-232, Public Employees’ Workplace Protections.
Maintenance building
Joe Butler from Hammers Construction discussed changes that were made to the original estimate, both increases and reductions resulting in the net decrease of $71,088 to the cost of the project. Changes included engineering modifications like raising elevations, a special fire hydrant, a stormwater inlet addition, beams for foundation design, etc. The board also discussed the timing of the completion of the project (December 2024) and reasons for delays like design changes, permit waits, etc.
FFPD board meetings are usually held the third Wednesday of each month at 3 p.m. in the meeting room at Falcon Fire Administration, 7030 Old Meridian Road.
Stay connected with the Falcon Fire Protection District
Website: http://www.falconfirepd.org
Facebook: Falcon Fire Department
Twitter: @FalconFireDept
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