The West Metro Fire Protection District is looking to balance its budget with layoffs, program cuts and a pay freeze because of flat revenues and rising costs.
No firefighters or paramedics are included in the layoffs, but four civilian full-time employees and one half-time employee – out of a workforce of 365 – got pink slips Tuesday.
The district, which sprawls over 110 square miles in Lakewood, Morrison and southwest Jefferson County, has struggled for three years.
Service reductions and layoffs have been avoided by using deficit spending, pulling money out of reserves and cutting operational costs, spokeswoman Cindy Matthews said.
“We’ve been cutting every year and cut 10 percent across the board again,” Matthews said. “But we’re still out of balance.”
The district board was scheduled Tuesday night to consider options for its $41.6 million 2006 budget, which could include no major capital improvement projects or maintenance, cuts in overtime and elimination of programs such as Scouts, bike rodeos and the holiday collection of toys and food.
On Friday, the district begins negotiations with Firefighter Local 1307 and will propose no pay increases. It also wants to forgo adding three firefighters each year to bring crews up to a national standard of four firefighters per engine.
“We’ve definitely come across tough times,” said Lt. Mike Frainier, local union president. “We’ll need to listen to both sides while still representing our side.”
Among rising costs are fuel, up 130 percent from 2000 to 2005, and utilities and general liability insurance, each up 113 percent in five years.
The district, which serves about 265,000 residents, receives about 75 percent of its revenues from property taxes and the remainder from license-plate renewal fees and emergency medical services billings.
Property tax revenues have increased 6 percent in the past two years, but urban renewal projects such as Belmar and Wal-Mart on West Colfax Avenue have hurt district collections.
For example, $593,000 in property taxes from the urban renewal areas that would have been sent to West Metro this year were instead given to the developers under terms of their agreement with Lakewood.
“Urban renewal projects hurt special districts,” Matthews said. “We’ll see that money in 20 years or whenever the agreements expire, but we provide the services today.”
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
