The economic meltdown has hurt your fire department

Black Forest Fire/Rescue has always been careful with your tax dollars. But the crash of the housing market has sharply reduced our revenue and put your fire department into a very tough financial situation.

You, the citizens of Black Forest, own this fire protection district. We need to know what solution you prefer:

Option 1: Live within current revenue by reducing services

Cutting costs means cutting staff. The easy expense cuts have already been made. The cost of our eleven full-time employees makes up more than 60% of the budget.

But if we cut staff, response time is likely to increase, especially during weekdays when most of our volunteers must work.

Longer response times will mean higher insurance premiums. The increased insurance cost may turn out to be more than a tax increase. 

Option 2: Increase revenue to maintain services

A tax increase will cost you more money. But it will allow us to maintain current service levels, and will improve future financial stability.

Learn more:
Follow the links at left to learn more about this complex and challenging issue.