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Letter: Fire district board supports 2A

For more than 40 years, the Steamboat Springs Area Fire Protection District and the city of Steamboat Springs have worked jointly to provide fire suppression, fire protection and public education, rescue and extrication, hazardous materials, ambulance and emergency medical services — collectively, “emergency services” — to the citizens and their property within the combined boundaries of the city and the fire district and to the individuals who visit our community each year.

Pursuant to the 2009 amended contract for services between the fire district and the city, the city operates Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue, which provides emergency services on behalf of the city and the fire district, with each partner contributing funds based on the demands for service in each area. The fire district’s contribution comes from property taxes, currently set at 6.011 mills, and the city currently funds its share through general city sales taxes.

The City Council has determined that during the November general election the city will ask its voters to approve a new property tax of 2 mills within the city. The city has indicated that revenue generated from the new property tax will be dedicated specifically to funding emergency services.



The challenges of funding emergency services within our community are not new, and the city and the fire district must continue to work together toward finding solutions to adequately fund critical, life-saving emergency services for all citizens and visitors to the Steamboat Springs community.  While the City’s proposed 2.0 mill property tax will not meet all of the city’s projected long-term funding obligations for emergency services, the board of directors for the fire district believes this is a positive first step.

Accordingly, the board of directors of the Steamboat Springs Area Fire Protection District supports the proposed initiative and encourages community support of ballot issue 2A.



Eric Schmidt
Tom Ihrig
Karl Gills
Randall Hannaway
Adonna Allen

Steamboat Springs Area Fire Protection board of directors


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