Poudre Fire Authority faces an unexpected budget limitation due to recent statewide legislation that placed a new cap on the amount of tax revenue Poudre Valley Fire Protection District can collect and keep.
To maintain the high level of fire and emergency services our residents expect and deserve, the District is considering seeking voter approval to waive the cap, which would allow the District to collect and keep the full amount tax revenue voters approved in 2018.
In Colorado, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) limits the amount of revenue the District may retain and spend without voter approval.
Removing this cap would require a ballot measure and voter approval: if approved, the ballot measure would not increase taxes.
Without additional revenue, emergency services and response will be impacted.
Emergency response times are a top priority, and this revenue is needed to ensure the District has the personnel and equipment to respond.
Costs for emergency response services continue to grow across the District, even as fire risk also increases.
Inflationary costs for preventing and responding to emergencies have increased more than 90% in some cases. Meanwhile, wildland fires in areas where grasslands and forests meet neighborhoods have become one of the biggest dangers in Colorado.
