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South Metro Fire Rescue warns of long-term revenue gap, outlines possible tax options
Summary
South Metro Fire Rescue officials told Arapahoe County commissioners the district faces a projected long-term shortfall driven by rising costs, equipment lead times and last year’s state tax changes; officials outlined service priorities and said voters would decide any tax increase.
South Metro Fire Rescue board chair Jim Albee told Arapahoe County commissioners on May 20 that the fire protection district is facing a multi‑year revenue shortfall and is beginning community outreach to explore revenue solutions.
Albee said the district’s primary concern is maintaining current service levels — response times, staffing of four firefighters per apparatus and capital replacement for stations and apparatus — while meeting rapidly rising costs and replacement timelines for costly equipment. "We have to be ordering things now and spending money that we may or may not have, to get those at the right place at the right time in 2029," Albee said.
The district, which covers roughly 287 square miles and serves about 577,000 residents from 30 fire stations, told the board that roughly 80% of its revenue comes from property taxes and about half of those property‑tax dollars originate in Arapahoe County. Albee presented a 10‑year projection contrasting an orange revenue line (the district’s forecast under current law) and a blue…
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