Debate over fire district merger heats up

   A heated political battle within Cimarron Hills Fire Protection District doesn't appear to be halting preliminary steps toward a merger with a neighboring fire district.

   The Cimarron Hills board voted 3-2 last week to pay the Falcon Fire Protection District $6,000 a month to run the Cimarron Hills Fire Department, outsourcing the role of a fire chief the department has been without for five months.

   Most see it as laying the groundwork for a full merger of the two districts.

   But a deep divide within Cimarron Hills could prevent that from happening anytime soon.

   One group fears the department will be swallowed up by the larger district and firefighters' jobs would be in jeopardy.

   The other side, while admitting to trying to break up what they perceive as a "good ol' boys network" in the district, says it is time for Cimarron Hills to face its limitations and act to "avoid the proverbial train wreck."

   The question of whether to join forces and share resources is facing many fire districts as they struggle with shrinking budgets and rising costs.

   At issue is whether the tiny Cimarron Hills Fire Protection District, a built-out, 6-squaremile pocket of unincorporated El Paso County surrounded by Colorado Springs, should be merged with Falcon Fire Protection District, encompassing 133 square miles of growth potential in eastern El Paso County.

   "When they can all come under one, we act just as a fire station over here with a battalion commander or a captain or whatever the case may be," said Cimarron Hills board Vice President Andy Anderson. "And they run just as efficient or probably more efficiently that way and save the district money. And it makes no sense not to do it. But we're having a lot of grief with it."

   The agreement approved Wednesday by Cimarron Hills that goes before Falcon's board this week is a quasi-authority without a blending of funds.

   Falcon's Chief Trent Harwig would oversee the operations of Cimarron Hills' only station.

   The deal would negate Falcon's need to build a station a mile from Cimarron Hills' station.

   Falcon could increase its response times in that area without asking voters to pass both a bond to build a station and a property tax increase to staff it - a combination Falcon voters have said "no" to in the past.

   The agreement expires in December and includes a clause allowing Cimarron Hills to quit the deal with two weeks notice. With Cimarron Hills' board soon changing, Harwig isn't clinging to the arrangement as a permanent solution.

   That security would depend on a full merger of the districts, which would probably have to be approved by voters.

   The split on the Cimarron Hills board is mirrored in a small group of community members who are either running for the board's open seats in May or have some stake, such as a relative, in the department.

   On one side is a group led by board President Gayle Jones and Anderson, who say merging with neighboring Falcon is the natural next step for Cimarron Hills. They say the subdivision has surpassed its growth potential, and the district has had to continually increase its property tax rate to cover operating costs.

   The other side includes dep a r t m e n t founder and longtime Fire Chief William Beahan, who says Falcon has more to gain from a merger and that Cimarron Hills firefighters would not be represented at the negotiating table with their own chief.

   The schism between the two groups was wide open at Wednesday night's meeting.

   For more than four hours, the board bickered and the audience of board candidates and firefighters grumbled.

   Twelve people are running for the two seats in May, including Robert Helton, who resigned as chief in October, his wife, Melody, his predecessor, Beahan, and Beahan's wife, Zee.

   Pride in the department runs deep, and where a candidate stands on the merger could play a large role in the election.

   Resident Jan Cederberg said she would rather have her property taxes double than see the department dissolved.

   "I don't want Falcon coming in and taking control," Cederberg said. "Why are we in such a hurry to do this? They need us worse than we need them."

   But a look at Cimarron Hills' department's financial picture suggests the need is more balanced.

   Cimarron Hills has little room for growth, and economic forecasts predict property values will drop in the next few years. That means without help from somewhere, the district's tax rate will continue to increase, Harwig said.

   From 2004 to 2008, Cimarron Hills Fire Protection District's property tax rate increased 46 percent.

   "A true merger could cut $200,000 from their budget annually," Harwig said.

   Cimarron Hills residents could also see a 20 percent to 25 percent reduction in their property tax rate.

   Falcon residents would have to approve a more than 30 percent increase in their property tax rate, a proposal Harwig said would have more of a chance without the need for a bond to build an additional station.

   Beahan said it could be years before a unified district would reap the tax benefits of Falcon's growth.

   Others question if Cimarron Hills would be stuck with a higher property tax rate if Falcon voters don't approve an increase.

   To Harwig, the decision shouldn't be about turf or internal political struggles.

   "Go ask any random citizen if their house is on fire or their relative has a heart attack, do you care what the name on the side of the truck is?" he said. "It is the most cost-effective way of doing business."

   Whether Cimarron Hills can come to a consensus either way is up in the air.

   "It all ends up to he said, she said; you can't get away from it," Beahan said.