Vote no on 4A

Blondie wrote:

frogger wrote: I learn something new about myself everyday. Tell me LJ....is everyone that disagrees with you a teabagger?

You forgot Randroid and knuckledragger. I have met you and your arms are not really that long. tongue:

You have to understand, to some any disagreement is not only wrong it is sinful and should be a capital offence.

[youtube:36hgybg3][/youtube:36hgybg3]

[quote=
What's more, they keep portraying this as a 50% property tax increase, and it isn't.

If you own a home valued by the County at $300,000, this mill levy increase will cost you less than $5 a month......... What is that? One Double Latte a StarBucks? A Cheeseburger and Fries at Wendy's?

Home Value Annual Cost Cost Per Month
$200,000 $39.80 $3.32
$300,000 $59.70 $4.98
$400,000 $79.60 $6.64
$500,000 $99.50 $8.29

And even with the increase, the folks who live within the Elk Creek Fire Protection District will still pay the lowest tax rate for fire protection and emergency medical services in all of Jefferson and Park Counties![/quote]


4.92/2= 2.46. So you correct. A ballot issue for 2.5 is not a 50% raise. it is a 51%! pay raise. ( for the fire district) None of the discussion has been about the overall tax rate homeowners are paying, This issue is about what we are paying to the fire district.

Elk Creek Fire also has the 2nd highest valuation in the area behind Evergreen. So when they claim to be on the bottom, the lowest, That is not a real statement. you have to couple the mill with the valuation to come up with an income. Elk Creek has a pretty substantial income for the size of the department and the number of employees. When you cross compare the number of station, amount of equipment and the number of employees, Elk Creek should be in really good shape.

I do have question not related to this quote. In the outline of the truck purchase and sell plan, I noticed they are selling the plow truck. What is the cost to keep that vehicle and use it vs contracting a company to do all the plowing?

I also noticed the plan to have 4 ambulances. Can you tell the readers how many calls the 1st ambulance runs, the 2nd and the 3rd each year. What is the justification for a 4th?

One resident asked: Do you realize that additional taxes paid by businesses will be passed on to the customers and/or incentivize the businesses to leave the area?

If the mill levy is passed, we will still have the lowest mill levy rate in any area in the entire metro Denver area. If a business chooses to leave, it would pay a higher tax rate in its new Metro-Denver location.

The Elk Creek Fire Protection District encompasses 98 square miles in Jefferson and Park Counties in generally rugged topography with elevations ranging from 6,000’ ft. to 11,000’ft. The district includes all of Conifer (80433) and most of Pine (80470) and provides coverage for small portions of Littleton (80127), Morrison (80465), and Evergreen (80439)

Population: approximately 10,900 (estimated 2012)
Structures: 4800 homes and 326 businesses

Public lands within the ECFPD boundary are: Staunton State Park; Meyer Ranch, Beaver Ranch, Flying J and Reynolds Jefferson County open space parks; Berrien, Legault, and James Newton Denver parks; and parts of the Pike and Arapahoe National Forests.

Even though Elk Creek responds to calls in these parks every week, the district receives no compensation or aid for protecting any of these public lands.

Wildland Fires: The entire District has a significant potential for involvement in major wildland fires. There have been several major wild fires nearby since 1996: Buffalo Creek, Hi-Meadow, Schoonover, Snaking, Black Mountain, Hayman, and the Lower North Fork fires. The Lower North Fork fire in 2012 destroyed 27 homes and killed 3 people.

Of the 40 communities in the district, 25 are at extreme fire risk (Elk Creek Community Wildfire Protection Plan [2005]). The risk is typically building construction, forest fuel loads, steep topography, and limited water access.

Many areas only have a single road access. In a fire, residents could be trapped.

Mike Davis, why does an elk creek firefighter need more fire when last summer they could point in any direction and find one?

Why does'nt elk creek bill for the services in these parks?

Rescue and HazMat:

US Highway 285 traverses across the District. Other than I-70, US 285 is the only route from Denver to the west. Friday afternoon and Sunday afternoon traffic is especially heavy year round averaging 21,000 cars per day past milepost 228.

Multicar accidents, fatalities, and hazmat situations are not uncommon.

Elk Creek Fire traines extensively to meet the needs of of citizens and visitors traveling through the Elk Creek Fire Protection District.

KinKaid Springs.....though I am quite sure you will ignore this question.....

Are you the owner of ?

The Elk Creek Fire Department:

In addition to the Chief and an administrative assistant, There are 65 volunteer and 6 full time paid fire and Emergency Medical Service personnel who provide EMS, rescue, and fire fighting services for the district.

The paid fire and EMS staff enables 24-hour coverage from Fire Station No 1 (Richmond Hill).

The Elk Creek Fire Department answers over 1000 calls a year with an average response time of 12 minutes and 25 seconds.

The district maintains mutual aid agreements with Evergreen, Inter-Canyon, Platte Canyon, Indian Hills, and North Fork fire departments.

Michael....Do you also have auto aid or mutual aide agreements with the Forest Service?