The Board of Directors of the Timberline Fire Protection District (District) held a budget hearing and special meeting on January 9, 2024, at 3 p.m. at Fire Station 3. Vice-Chairman John Bushey presided over the meeting, with Mary Kate McKenna attending in person and John Carder and Kristin Turner attending virtually. Chairman Rick Wenzel was traveling and unavailable to attend. Also in attendance were Fire Chief Paul Ondr and Administrative Chief Jennifer Hinderman

The purpose of the special meeting was to set the general operating mill levy rate for 2024, approve and adopt the 2024 budget, and approve appropriation of funds needed for the budget.

Timberline provides fire protection, prevention, and rescue services for rural Gilpin County and portions of western Boulder County. Since 2022, Timberline has also been providing wildfire mitigation services and assessments. Gilpin County assisted the district in setting up this new program with $100,000 in 2023 and $50,000 for 2024.

The District opened Fire Station 9 in southern Gilpin County in 2023 and has a 50% grant from History Colorado for the installation of a new roof for Fire Station 3, formerly known as the Fritz Peak Observatory. Applications for grants have been submitted to add three vehicle bays to Fire Station 3.

The District currently has 11 full-time employees, one part-time employee, and 45 volunteers. Grants have been awarded from the FEMA-funded SAFER program for a fulltime Deputy Chief/Recruitment and Retention Program Manager in conjunction with the Golden Gate Fire Protection District. Another FEMA grant was secured for a Fire Mitigation Coordinator and the expansion of chipping efforts in local neighborhoods.

The District sold four engines in 2022 and 2023 and purchased three new engines and two brush trucks in 2023. A rebuilt water tender is scheduled for delivery in February 2024. Insurance money was used to rebuild the water tender.

The 2024 budget has been set at $2,514,964, a small decrease from that of 2023 ($2,700,424). Property owners in the district approved an adjustment to the general operating mill levy rate in 2018 to account for any loss in tax revenue from any change in Assessment Rates under the Gallagher Amendment. The mill levy rate is set to float up or down to cover the budget. In 2024, the mill levy adjustment went from a base of 8.342 to 8.816 mills in order to meet all general operating expenses of the District.

The Board unanimously passed the resolution to set mill levies for 2024. They also unanimously approved the 2024 Timberline Fire Protection District budget and unanimously approved the resolution to appropriate sums of money from their General Fund to cover the 2024 budget. The meeting was adjourned at 3:07 p.m.

The documents and details regarding the 2024 mill levy rate and budget can be found on the Timberline website (timberlinefpd.colorado.gov) under the Board of Directors tab (timberlinefpd.colorado. gov/ elected-officials-board-of-directors). Click on the AGENDA and DOCUMENT links to view the detailed 2024 budget.

The next regular meeting of the Board will be on January 16, 2024, at 6 p.m. at Fire Station #3.