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Silver Plume delays adoption of revised Clear Creek Fire Authority agreement amid funding uncertainty
Summary
Mayor Lee Berenato reported the revised CCFA intergovernmental agreement contains only minor changes but does not resolve county funding; the board agreed to table a decision and asked for input from the fire chief before a December 15 deadline.
Silver Plume trustees discussed a revised intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Clear Creek Fire Authority on Nov. 11 and agreed to delay adoption pending additional information about county funding.
Mayor Lee Berenato told the board he reviewed the revised CCFA IGA and found no substantial changes from the existing agreement beyond a two‑year extension and the addition of three new at‑large CCFA board seats appointed by the CCFA board rather than county commissioners. Lee said he met with George Marlin, a county commissioner, and discussed county funding uncertainty; Marlin reportedly favors a sales tax to fund the authority, an option Lee said he found inappropriate given municipalities increased property taxes to support the authority.
Lee said he also spoke with Commissioner‑elect Rebecca Lloyd, who "basically said, we're going to do whatever it takes to support the Fire Authority," which Lee described as not providing a concrete answer. Trustee Bryon Monseu reminded the board that in April Silver Plume approved a local tax increase on the condition that alternative county funding would relieve the town's extra burden; Lee confirmed the draft IGA does not address funding responsibilities.
Trustee Martin Gitlin urged that Fire Chief Kelly Babeon be invited to the next meeting to provide the department's perspective. The board noted the town must adopt or take action on the IGA by Dec. 15 and agreed that tabling the decision until the next meeting would be appropriate to obtain additional county and department input.
No formal adoption vote occurred at this meeting; the board tabled the IGA discussion to the next regular meeting pending further information from county officials and the fire department.
