Vote no on 4A

You don't have to have permits to hang banners on businesses, or put signs out, just the permission of the business, building, or property owner.

PrintSmith, Kassk20 is right - they didn't try to kick the can down the road or have poor planning, ECFPD has put this to the voters twice in the last 6 years alone. It was voted down both times for various reasons, which at this point don't really matter. The point now is that the ISO rating is coming next year, they have equipment that is past rating criteria, they have a department that is united and being run competently and honestly by good men from every indication that I can personally find, they've cut spending as much as they can without closing stations or laying off personnel, and have spelled out their minimum needs to the voters yet again.

As I mentioned before, if they buy 15 year old equipment (which they cannot do without a mill levy passing, by the way), in 10 years when this mill levy expires, they'd be coming back and asking for another mill levy to be passed again. You cite that housing prices will increase by 10% over the next 10 years so perhaps they will be able to put more into reserves than they are projecting now, but how do you know that? For next year they plan to put in $27,000 to reserves if the mill passes, not even a tenth of the interface engine they are looking at, but after next year they won't have the one-time cost to add new gear to increase the # of volunteers, which is estimated at $75,000. After that they can put that amount into reserves as well. With as bad as our economy is and has been, are there any economists out there that you can provide as examples saying that the real estate and the housing market will rebound that much in that time frame? I don't see my house worth going up that much considering the country's debt we have to contend with, as a matter of fact, it's lower than when we bought 5 years ago and Lakewood hasn't suffered the downturn that other areas around Denver have - fewer of our storefronts closed, and I believe we had a lower foreclosure rate too.

So, if prices/home values stay stagnant, at best, AND the mill does not pass, the department is looking at having to cut another $75,000 from the budget, and will need to use over $28,000 from their current reserves. They've already cut 2.5 paid positions out of 12 - all that's left are 6 EMT/paramedics who work 2 at a time over 3 rotations, 48 hours on, 96 hours off, the Chief, the mechanic, and half time admin. So it's cut EMT/paramedics or close stations. They didn't try to get to this point but this is where it's at - what is acceptable to everyone for service in time of emergency? Do you want a volunteer coming if you are having a medical emergency or have been in a car wreck on 285, or a Paramedic who's licensed to administer drugs that even RN's can't? This isn't an attempt to use "scare tactics" to get people to vote for the measure, it's merely spelling out what they will have to do so they stay in compliance with TABOR laws and other laws considering spending public revenue.

For a reminder, the proposed 2014 Budget is posted with the Oct 2013 BOD meeting in this thread:
http://mymountaintown.com/forums/area-n ... ions/28224

As far as the snow making equipment, I haven't seen it on budgets anywhere so I can't claim with 100% certainty but I would bet my next paycheck that they never bought (just rented or borrowed) snow making equipment - it would have to be a board approved expenditure and its completely useless for a fire department to need or justify.

As for wearing gear while doing the Barrel Stave Ski Race and Mt Lugo Luge (which all the other departments did as well), this was a complaint that Mike Bartlett brought up at one of the meetings I videotaped, along with a complaint that firefighters who got hurt while doing such an activity would be able to claim workers comp. I find that quite far-fetched, not impossible but unlikely, that firefighters would damage gear skiing 400 ft down Meyer Ranch, and that obviously off-duty personnel would be able to claim workers comp for an injury on personal time. Mr. Bartlett also complained about the department having contests in which parents could win an opportunity for their kids to be taken to school on the fire engine was an improper use of equipment, saying that it added to wear and tear/miles, and wasted gas.

To all this I would reply, it's immeasurable and critical the effect that fostering a good relationship with the citizens in their community that these kinds of activities, as well as SantaLand at the Conifer Christmas Parade, meeting with HOAs to discuss mitigation, attending Trunk or Treat at local schools with dept trucks, and having Open Houses, helps the community feel trust and familiarity with the members of the dept. I think this is an essential public relations effort, with little cost for big ROI, to develop, considering the number of people who refuse to evacuate when asked to during an emergency, placing themselves and first responders unnecessarily in harms way. When I was a kid, the local firefighters and police officers came to school, or had Open Houses and it was so we could get used to a stranger in that uniform, would feel safe and comfortable going to them if something had happened to our parents, and would make their job easier helping us scared and confused kids - it's a no-brainer in my mind. Imagine if you recognized the person knocking on your door telling you there's a fire or flood coming, you know they come from a well-run and respected local dept (not some random deputy from down the hill who knows nothing about our area), and they recommend you move to safety - you are more likely to listen and follow instructions if this is the case, and this can help save lives. To say that it's a waste of time and resources, and to claim that the taxpayers will bear the burden, for the dept to make these efforts seems to me to be un-verified and short-sighted so as to miss the big picture of all the good it can do.