Fire departments host virtual town halls about coming merger

By January 2021, two local fire districts will be merged into one. Mountain View Fire Rescue will absorb Rocky Mountain Fire District, with the combined district covering about 250 square miles, including areas in both Boulder and Weld counties.

Last week, both districts hosted virtual town halls to spread the word about the merger and answer any questions from the public.

In these town halls, MVFPD Chief Dave Beebe, who will be the combined district chief, addressed services rendered, personnel changes and briefly, potential financial impacts.

"We will continue to operate all the stations. As a citizen of the district, for a routine call, there won't be much change," said Chief Beebe.

He said that while some duplications will be eliminated, all employees will be retained, but likely moved into other positions. RMF Chief Mike Tombolato will be the deputy chief.

According to the webpage set up to discuss all items related to the merger, employee benefits are at the forefront of their concern. "It is our intention to keep employees as whole as possible with benefits, but naturally with all mergers, there is always some impact and change. We will communicate benefits information this fall once the details are finalized."

The two districts' boards will be merged, with two of RMF's board members will replace seats on the current MVFPD board. They will combine administrative functions under one roof at 3561 N Stagecoach Rd. in Longmont.

Financially, areas formerly served by RMF will likely see a decrease in their mill levy. However, it is important to note that since both districts have previously been de-Bruced (this voter-approved process allows a government to spend excess revenue rather than issuing refunds), they are still subject to the Gallagher Amendment, assuming that it isn't repealed in the upcoming election.

The Gallagher Amendment set a 45% to 55% split between taxes on residential property and non-residential property (commercial) in 1982, fixed the commercial property assessment rate at 29 %, and provided that the total taxes paid by residential owners would never go higher as a percentage of the total.

As a result of more housing being built and large increases in residential property values, the valuation of residential property for tax purposes has declined from approximately 21% to 7% over the years, while commercial property valuation remains at 29%. The result is that business owners currently pay approximately four times more in taxes than homeowners based on the actual value of their properties.

For more information about the merger and its potential impact, please visit the merger section of MVFPD's website. Questions can also be emailed directly to merge@mvfpd.org.