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Fire Protection District board approves budget, renames contingency the 'Fire Services Fund'
Summary
The Fire Protection District board adopted its budget after a public hearing, clarified that district funds remain dedicated to fire services, and agreed to rename an "unallocated" contingency as the Fire Services Fund; the adoption passed by unanimous roll call.
The Fire Protection District board voted to adopt its budget following a public hearing and discussion about how contingency funds are labeled and used. Board members and staff emphasized that district dollars are held in an enterprise fund and must be spent only on fire-related services, and the board agreed to rename an item previously labeled "unallocated" as the "Fire Services Fund" to make the restriction clear to the public.
Why it matters: The labeling clarifies accounting and public perception: board members said the term "unallocated" can suggest funds are available for general use, whereas the district's contingency is restricted to fire expenditures under the district's authority.
Public input and context: During the public hearing on Item 2.1 (fiscal-year budget adoption; fiscal year label not specified in the transcript), speakers Daniel Gilbranson and Bridal Parham were invited to comment. In board discussion, Speaker 11 (who referenced a JPA) noted the district and CSD are expected to fund certain services 50/50 and that budget adjustments can occur midyear. Several board members said they prefer to label contingency funds explicitly so the public understands the money is dedicated to fire services.
Staff clarification: Speaker 10 explained the Fire Protection District is a separate agency and that its funds are enterprise funds dedicated solely to fire-related expenditures: "Those dollars only stay in the Fire Protection District... they don't get commingled with general fund dollars... and those dollars can only be spent on fire related expenditures." The board agreed to title the account "Fire Services Fund."
Vote and implementation: Speaker 5 moved to adopt the budget with the single wording change to rename the contingency as the Fire Services Fund; Perry seconded. Roll call recorded Aye votes from Board member Putz, Board member Segovia, Vice chair Hicks, Board member Melnick and Chair Herrick; the motion passed. Staff said they will address the account title in the Fire Protection District budget documents and post the updated budget.
Provenance: The public hearing and related discussion begin at SEG 407 and the motion and roll-call vote conclude at SEG 608.
