HomeMy WebLinkAbout8_Fire Department Mill Levy Options_8
Commission Memorandum
REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Chuck Winn, Fire Chief
Chris Kukulski, City Manager
SUBJECT: Fire Department Mill Levy Options
MEETING DATE: July 23, 2007
RECOMMENDATION: Direct staff to bring back a resolution, to the August 13 City
Commission meeting, with ballot language for an eighteen (18) mill levy request to fund staffing
and operations of a new city fire station (14 mills), and funding for the fire department’s
equipment and capital reserve plan (4 mills).
BACKGROUND: In November 2006, the City Commission adopted the City’s Fire Protection
Master Plan. That plan strongly recommended the immediate construction and staffing of a third
fire station in the northwest quadrant of the city. Subsequent to the adoption of that plan and
City Commission direction, the Fire Department has been working to construct, equip, and staff
Station #3. Because they are 100% eligible, we expect impact fees to pay for the construction
and engine costs for Station #3. If the station opened in FY2009, we would need to borrow the
equivalent of two years’ of fire impact fees ($650,000). This borrowing could be internally or
externally financed.
Location. The City has been working closely with Gallatin County to explore the possibility of
collocating with the new 9-1-1 center in the County’s regional park. This collocation is expected
to provide important fiscal and operational efficiencies for both agencies if the joint project
progresses. Our projected costs anticipate construction at the County park site.
Staffing. A total of 15 firefighters are needed to fully staff the fire department once the new
station is operational. The city has been able to fund 2 of the 15 additional firefighters needed
with existing general fund dollars. The fourteen (14) mills for staffing and station operations
include the personnel costs, firefighter protective clothing, and operations costs for the new fire
station.
Equipment and Capital Plan. We have undertaken a comprehensive analysis of our current and
anticipated future capital equipment needs, including the scheduled replacement of current
apparatus after its safe and useful service life. As the city grows and the fire department
responds to that growth, we will increase our inventory of emergency equipment and can
anticipate the service life of that equipment. Planning for the replacement of the city’s fire
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apparatus is good public policy and the attached table shows the service life and anticipated
future replacement costs of that equipment. Four (4) mills of the eighteen (18) mill total would
fund this equipment and capital reserve plan.
Equipment & Capital Reserve - 4 Mills
Fiscal
Year Revenues Replacements Description Balance
2009 278,903 - 278,903
2010 290,059 196,125 Engine #1 372,837
2011 301,662 674,499
2012 313,728 988,227
2013 326,277 1,276,282 Ladder Truck 38,222
2014 339,328 - 377,550
2015 352,901 730,452
2016 367,017 1,097,469
2017 381,698 186,159 1,293,008
2018 396,966 733,003 Engine #2 956,971
2019 412,845 1,369,816
2020 429,358 1,799,174
2021 446,533 1,150,246 Engine #3 1,095,461
2022 464,394 - 1,559,855
2023 482,970 2,042,825
2024 502,289 982,294 Engine #1 1,562,820
2025 522,380 1,031,408 Engine #4 1,053,792
2026 543,275 1,597,067
2027 565,006 2,162,074
2028 587,607 2,749,680
2029 611,111 3,360,791
2030 635,555 1,316,367 Engine #2 2,679,979
2031 660,978 3,340,957
2032 687,417 4,028,373
2033 714,913 1,523,860 Engine #3 3,219,427
2034 743,510 3,555,673 Ladder Truck 407,264
2035 773,250 1,180,514
2036 804,180 1,764,058 Engine #4 220,637
FISCAL EFFECTS:
There are no immediate fiscal effects. If the proposed resolution is adopted and the proposed
levy passes, the tax revenue would be budgeted and available in FY09 (estimated to total $1.2
Million.) For the City’s median homeowner, with a taxable market value of $89,000, this 18 mill
levy would cost $50.40 per year, or an additional $4.20 per month.
Bozeman Median Homeowner ($89,000 taxable
market value)
$50.40 per
year
$4.20 per
month
$100,000 taxable market value $54.18 per
year
$4.51 per
month
$200,000 taxable market value $108.36 per $9.03 per
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year month
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the Commission.
Respectfully submitted,
_________________________________ ____________________________
Chuck Winn, Fire Chief Chris A. Kukulski, City Manager
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