Vote no on 4A

That doesn't seem true considering that most of us voluntarily vote on tax proposals.

That brings up a point that hasn't been really addressed. I've heard people ask "Why doesn't the department just apply for more grants to fund its needs?" Aside from the fact that grant writing is very time- consuming, especially in light of the fact that there's little return on investment for it because there are more and more people applying for those same funds meaning the likelihood of winning is slimmer so often it's a huge waste of time for nothing, there's a bigger fundamental issue. Grants are mostly (not all) federal tax dollars. If you want your local department to go begging for federal tax dollars, you are, in essence, asking for a stronger and more well-funded federal government. You are reducing the power of the government at the local level by allowing the Feds to decide who gets what. And keep in mind that every organization across the country is in the same boat so if every citizen of every district says the same thing, we are all the cause of a loss of local control in favor of federal control.

This department serves us. It has specific needs for which it has asked, and has done its best cutting what it can to get by until now. We benefit from their services - people in Arizona or Florida should not be paying our local department, just as we should not be paying theirs. Take care of our own, keep the control local.

On a side note, I attended the Evergreen Town Hall Meeting Thursday night and Rep. Cheri Gerou said that Gov. Hickenlooper has told her that he will not be voting for any Wildfire Task measure that recommends state-mandated ratings of our mountain homes. ISO ratings will still be the primary way insurance decides the risk value for your homes. I videotaped that meeting as well, I'll try to get to it early next week.