Imagine the consequences throughout the Southwest of a massive fire just west of Mesa Verde National Park. Infrastructure, public and private properties, farms, ranches and businesses torched. Landscapes, air and water quality, ecosystems and more deteriorated or – worse – devastated.
Or a hazmat spill on U.S. Highway 491, running north and south of Cortez, a familiar cut-through to U.S. Highway 40 for semis loaded with hazardous materials.
Or any out-of-control blaze on Cortez’s Main Street requiring more than four firefighters.
None of these scenarios are far-fetched. All within the Cortez Fire Protection District, each disaster would need additional firefighters and resources from outlying mutual aid districts – both career and volunteer crews – from Dove Creek to Durango. Difficulties would reach beyond the fire district’s boundary lines.
At the crossroads of the Four Corners, CFPD is in a crucial location. So it’s especially troubling that it’s in financial “dire straits,” according to Cortez Fire Chief Roy Wilkinson in The Journal on July 22. “Every day we come to work, and we cross our fingers that nothing breaks.”
Frightening words.
Handling emergencies adequately could become a roll of the dice. Plainly, bluntly, Wilkinson has said, “We are asking for the community’s help.”
Citizens usually ask first responders for help, not the other way around. What else could district voters do but check “yes” to a proposed 0.54% sales tax on the November ballot?
Otherwise, we’re taking for granted a swift response from sufficient numbers of firefighters with basic equipment.
The sales tax would cost consumers less than a penny on the dollar or just more than 50 cents for every $100 spent. It’s a strategic amount, calculated to pass. It’s the minimum, rock bottom and would ease CFPD’s $250,000 debt, too.
Considering how wrong things could go, it’s a small ask.
A sales tax is an easier sell than the property tax proposal that didn’t pass last year. The tax burden would be shared widely with more than 70% coming from visitors. That’s striking and fair as firefighters make a good amount of runs to people just passing through.
CFPD spans 169 square miles, from the Utah border and nearly to Mesa Verde, which welcomes about 500,000 visitors every year.
An estimated $3.3 million would be raised with 12% coming from district residents and 16% expected from those in Montezuma County.
Pushback came after the release of these figures from residents outside the fire district but within Montezuma County. But this falls under state law.
Per month, fire crews go on average 332.4 runs. In 2024 up to July 25, there were 2,327 runs with a yearly projection of 3,989. 2023 saw more than 3,500 runs.
Primarily funded by a decade-old mill levy, CFPD isn’t taking in nearly enough. When the state cut property taxes, it hurt.
Gear is compliant with National Fire Protection Agency standards, but won’t be for long. Forget about pay raises. The district is training firefighters to find better paying jobs elsewhere. The ladder truck from 1994 can’t be replaced – it would cost up to $2 million.
CFPD keeps going with two volunteers, nine part-time and 12 total firefighters, divided into three shifts and two battalions. Usually four firefighters are scheduled to one shift, although 16 or 17 firefighters are more appropriate numbers to respond to a house fire.
Station 2 in south Cortez will be listed for sale, and two other stations are possibilities.
The rallying cry to save CFPD is not dramatic. It’s pragmatic. Necessary. Even for those of us outside CFPD’s boundaries.
