Residents in the city of Durango and unincorporated parts of the Durango Fire Protection District are being asked this November to consider a property tax increase to help fund a new fire station in the Three Springs area, among other expenses.
Question 2A on the city ballot and Question 7A on the county ballot ask voters to approve or deny a 4.45 mill property tax increase in the DFPD’s jurisdiction – equal to about $195 per year for someone who owns a $700,000 home.
City residents will receive ballot Question 2A and La Plata County residents within the district will receive Question 7A. The combined increase would provide the department with $2.8 million annually to help pay for the new fire station, staffing and equipment, according to the official ballot language.
Both 2A and 7A must be approved by voters for the mill levy increase to go into effect, said DFPD Chief Randy Black.
In late August, residents were given the chance to write 500-word statements on the proposed ballot questions as part of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, according to La Plata County Clerk Tiffany Lee. Those statements help voters understand the arguments for or against a particular ballot measure, and are compiled by a designated election official .
“The designated election official doesn't add anything to the comment,” Lee said. “They have to be very careful on how they don't add their own language, obviously. ... They’re just capturing what that comment was trying to say.”
The county clerk does not verify the factual accuracy of the comments, according to the La Plata County Coordinated Elections Informational Booklet.
The statements opposing the ballot measures presented several reasons why the proposed mill levy increase may not be justified.
“I realize that [Three Springs] is part of Durango, but the developers just ASSUMED the homeowners in the City would cover the cost,” the opposition statement to Question 2A reads. “Homeowners are already supporting the new fire station that is being built by (next to) Backcountry Experience.”
Black said Three Springs homeowners are already paying voter-approved taxes that helped fund construction of the newly built downtown fire station. The proposed tax increase would also be paid by them – and everyone in the district – not just those in Durango city limits.
“I think that it’s easy for people to get stuck in the ‘we’re paying for somebody else’ mindset,” Black said. “But, ‘it’s we are all paying for all of us and all of the benefit.’”
Black said tax dollars from across DFPD’s district helped fund numerous improvements to the department’s equipment and facilities, including a new firetruck at Station 15 near Electra Lake, new ambulances across the district, the rebuilding of Station 3 at 32nd Street and the new downtown station.
“Nobody wants to pay more, but I think that people get their focus in the wrong place when they say, ‘Why should downtown people have to pay for a station in Three Springs?’” Black said. “All of the trucks, all of our apparatus, all of our stations and all of our people benefit our entire community, our entire district and even the neighboring districts.”
The opposition statement went on to argue that fire protection and emergency services should be funded by a broader base, including homeowners, renters, business owners and tourists – not just property owners.
“Historically the city of Durango has budgeted and paid for fire and emergency services without having a specific tax levy; both when the fire department was a unit of city government and since Durango Fire and Rescue was formed,” the comment said.
By funding these services through property taxes, the statement read, an undue burden is placed on property owners for services that benefit a broad population.
Black said the department opted for a mill levy increase instead of a sales tax hike to ensure that all groups contribute a small amount to benefit the community. Homeowners would pay more in property taxes, he said, but so would business and rental property owners – meaning those costs could be distributed among all users of the services.
“The tourists, the residents, the renters, the owners, the business owners, the building owners, the college students – everybody ends up paying for a property tax and so it requires a smaller percent increase shared across everybody within the community,” Black said.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
