Fire districts are looking at tight budgets and possible service cutbacks after voters rejected three tax increase proposals on Tuesday.
The North Park Fire Protection District asked voters to approve a property tax increase to pay for replacements for aging equipment — a $17,000 expense. The measure was rejected by 56 percent of voters.
The increase, had it been approved, would have resulted in a $33.33 property tax increase over 12 months for a home valued at $100,000.
The defeat of the referendum means that North Park Fire may curtail fire assistance to ambulances on emergency calls. North Park Fire also may postpone a planned consolidation on a donated 2-acre site that’s more centrally located within the three districts it serves.
“There’s going to come a point where we have to figure out what’s best for our community while living in the means they’re giving us,” North Park Fire Chief Joel Hallstrom said. “That’s the hard question.”