The Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District is hiring — an opportunity that, thanks to the passing of Ballot Measure 6A, will for the first time in roughly five years help the department fill major service gaps and round out its team to meet the needs of the growing Front Range population.
Within the past 10 years, emergency calls to the Frederick-Firestone Protection District have doubled across the 36-mile stretch of Weld County territory it serves, but the number of staff, which includes roughly 42 firefighters, has stayed relatively static. With the passing of the ballot measure, Summer Campos, a spokesperson for the Frederick-Firestone Protection District, said the department plans to hire between nine and 12 firefighters mid-year 2020. An additional three to four firefighters could be hired in ensuing years.
On Nov. 5, voters approved a 2.54 mill addition to its 11.360 levy. It is expected to garner $1,984,744 annually for the district. Weld County’s unofficial election results show that the ballot measure earned 60% of the vote, passing by 1,583 votes.The mill addition will go into effect starting 2020, earmarking funds to not only hire more staff, but also to replace aging equipment and build new fire stations as the population grows.
For the fire protection district, which is dependent on property tax funding and does not receive municipal funds, the measure’s passing was met with celebration.
District Chief Jeremy Young said he wished to express a “heartfelt” thanks to voters.
“We are inspired by the overwhelming support and will work tirelessly on our citizens’ behalf to help address community challenges head-on and to secure lasting and meaningful improvements to our quality of life,” Young said in an email. “With the passing of 6A, we now have the security to do what is right for our firefighters and our citizens.”
Campos echoed the sentiment and added that the getting the tax increase to pass has been a priority since 2018, when the FFFPD’s identified it as part of its long-term plan.
“We were very thankful,” Campos said. “It was something we needed.”
While the district was able to hire three new emergency responders in the spring of 2018, staffing has largely stayed fixed for the past five years. Campos said past hires have typically only replaced firefighters who left. According to Young, the district was losing between four to six firefighters to neighboring departments, which were able to offer more competitive wages. Firefighters at FFFPD make between $52,000 and $62,000 a year, which is lower than the Colorado average for $61,160. With the tax increase, Campos said the district hopes to offer more competitive wages.
The district serves roughly 36,000 residents and provides numerous services, like fire suppression, emergency medical care and transport, as well as education. The fire district is accepting applications through Jan. 6 and will start narrowing down candidates next year.
Looking to the future, Campos said his team is better poised to keep up with Colorado’s population growth.
“All of those things will play a part in keeping response times where they need to be and making sure our firefighters are safe and the community they are responding to is safe,” she said.
———
©2019 the Daily Times-Call (Longmont, Colo.)
Visit the Daily Times-Call (Longmont, Colo.) at www.timescall.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
