After holding four public meetings in December and January to gather feedback Colorado River Fire Rescue and their citizen task force will recommend to the CRFR Board of Directors at the February Board of Directors Meeting on Tuesday to pursue a mill levy election this coming May.

The 6.099 mill proposal would have an estimated monthly tax impact of $3.63 per $100,000 of a property’s actual value.

CRFR formed a Citizens Task Force in 2019 to explore future funding issues.  

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The fire district covers 851 square miles, including the communities of Rifle, Silt and New Castle.

From 2015 to 2018, the Fire District’s overall assessed valuation dropped from $1.1 billion to $674 million, reducing annual revenues by $2.6 million. 

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In a news release, CRFR said revenues tied to an increase in the valuation of residential properties has helped, but CRFR still needs to make up more than $2.2 million in lost revenues to reinstate and maintain proper staffing levels as well as allocate a portion of other revenues to address equipment, apparatus and facility needs.

CRFR saw 10 employees leave for other fire districts this past year and currently has six open positions.

With the mill levy the district would address its highest-priority personnel, equipment and facility needs to ensure emergency services and response times are maintained. 

After presenting the extensive public feedback to the task force, they unanimously voted to recommend the CRFR pursue a mill levy.

Members of the task force will formally present their recommendation to the CRFR Board of Directors at this coming Tuesday’s meeting held at 6:30 p.m. at Station 41 in Rifle.