According to Fire Chief Mark Wesseldine, the Platte Canyon Fire Protection District will be going to the voters in November with ballot issue 5A to ask for a 2.9 percent increase in the property tax mill levy.
During an interview with The Flume, Wesseldine explained that the tax increase would not be used for new equipment or employees.
“It’s to maintain the current level of service,” Wesseldine said.
In 2008, PCFPD took over the Platte Canyon Ambulance Service. Since that time the department has had to supply both emergency medical and fire protection services under the same budget.
“We’ve been using our fire department budget to do EMS [emergency medical service] and none of it is going toward fire,” Wesseldine said. “Our fire training budget has been cut in half, we’ve cut almost everything on the fire side just to keep the medical side going.”
