The fire chiefs of El Paso County’s volunteer fire departments and fire protection districts encourage you to vote “yes” on Question 1A: the proposed 1 percent county sales tax.Our fire departments will not directly receive any funds from this tax, but this funding will help the sheriff’s office continue to offer basic fire safety services.Most of the county’s 25 fire departments are small. Like good neighbors, we pool our resources and work together to respond to large fires. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is a strong partner in this countywide fire protection effort.Sheriff’s deputies respond when firefighters and ambulance technicians are threatened or assaulted on emergency scenes.The sheriff’s office provides centralized dispatching for county fire departments and coordinates radio communication.The Hazardous Material Response Team protects citizens from toxic releases and trains firefighters to respond to both chemical accidents and chemical weapons.The Wildland Fire Suppression Team responds to wildfires all over the county and trains local wildland firefighters.The sheriff’s office sends highly trained fire investigators to determine the cause of structure fires.El Paso County Search and Rescue conducts wilderness search and rescue and helps firefighters reach people stranded in snowstorms.The County’s Office of Emergency Management provides essential coordination and support when a major disaster affects the entire county.County taxpayers are getting a bargain because volunteers do many of these specialized jobs. But, the sheriff’s office still pays for management, training and equipment.To balance his budget, Sheriff Maketa must look for cuts in every area of his department’s operations. If he is forced to eliminate some of these public safety services, or to charge local fire departments a fee for their use, every small community in the county will feel the effects.Please vote “yes” on Question 1A.Dave Ury2008 ChairmanPikes Peak Fire Chiefs’ Forum
