More than 50 fire districts across Colorado are requesting the same thing from their voters this fall: Give us a legal workaround to a property tax law that’s set to slash our budgets again.
Lives are at stake, they say.
“We’re way past the crisis point,” West Metro Fire Chief Don Lombardi said. “The fire districts have called 911, and no one is answering.” Lombardi’s district, which covers Lakewood, Edgewater and Wheat Ridge, could lose about $5 million if his ballot measure fails and the property tax rate paid by homeowners drops as predicted in 2020. Wellington Fire Protection District thinks its loss would equal the cost of a fire station. The North-West Fire Protection District in Fairplay predicted a $160,000 cut if voters reject their request.