Editor:
Voters are being asked to approve a 3.5 mill increase for the Cortez Fire Protection District. I wonder how much most of the voters know about the Cortez Fire Protection District. The fire department was organized in 1886 as a way for neighbors to help neighbors. In 1986, by a vote of the people, the fire district was formed. This allowed the district to become a taxing entity under the state of Colorado.
The Cortez Fire Protection District was a 100 percent volunteer department through 2008. The district is, and always has been, the richest district in the county. They have amassed $1,500,000+ in a reserve fund. (Just check out the budget figures for 2012.) Now they would like the taxpayers to give them another $500,000 per year.
Cortez says their budget may experience a shortfall of approximately $80,000. I am looking at the proposed budget for 2012, and, even with the shortfall, the budget shows an increase in the fund balance of $1,567. Apparently, they didnt really need that extra $80,000.
Oh! But wait! I did forget. They were able to save over $72,000 by cutting the amount transferred to the volunteer retirement fund in half for 2012. They told the retirees, including those who rely on the income from this fund (a maximum of $495 per month), that the fund was solvent. It is not and never had been. The last actuarial study showed it in the 60 percent range, a far cry from 100 percent.
So now, if the district has an $80,000 shortfall but gained over $72,000 by lying to the retirees and taking their money, I see only about an $8,000 shortage, which is not really short at all! As stated, they are proposing an addition of $1,567 to the fund balance that already sits at $1,525,696.
Why do they need another $500,000?
G.W. McCutcheon
Retired firefighter and
former CFPD board member
Cortez