COLUMBUS — During a regular Colorado County Commissioners Court session on Jan. 13 in Columbus, the court held a required public hearing from 9 a.m. to a little after 10 a.m. to discuss the merits of putting the Emergency Services District (ESD) formation on the county ballot in May for citizens to vote.
During the public hearing, a resident of Oakland came forward with questions about the ESD itself. He asked about a plan for the emergency services, what services it would entail, how it would improve the quality of life, and how the proposed tax, which is at 10 cents on property evaluation, would be spent. He also wanted to know if there would be county professional firefighters and what would happen to the volunteers for the firefighters of Colorado County.
Howard Katz, an attorney represent- ing the Colorado County Firefighters Association, spoke during the public hearing. He said the ESD would enhance services and provide funding. He deferred to the local fire departments to
answer many of the questions about services.
Katz told the commissioners court that an ESD board would need to be
appointed and organized first. Then, it would be possible to determine how monies would be allocated and how much would be available for the myriad of necessary equipment and maintenance.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Ryan Brandt asked, “What is the plan?” He further stated that there is no plan, which was very concerning to him. During the meeting, it seemed to be “pass this bill first and find out what is in it." However, the primary reason for the public hearing was for the court to decide if it wanted to place it on the ballot for the public to vote on it and let them decide if an ESD is warranted in Colorado County.
The sticking point was the lack of in formation on how an ESD would operate if it were to pass. Colorado County Judge Ty Prause said that the general public should be provided with the necessary information to be adequately informed about voting. SAFE-D.org is a site that outlines the legal and statutory responsibilities of an Emergency Services District.
Fire chiefs from Columbus, Oakland and Weimar stood up to talk, not necessarily on the merits of an ESD, but that a series of town hall meetings with information and questions, and answers will be available to the general public before the May vote if it passes the commissioners court to be included on the ballot. It was brought before the court for consideration of the expense of vol- unteer fire departments incur with new equipment and maintenance. A new engine now costs around $800,000. It was brought up about the conditions of fire stations and that Columbus was a 1930s building and the cost to rehab it would be over a million dollars. An ESD would be necessary for the future of firefight ing as fundraisers can not cover the ex- penses of running a fire station. The public hearing was closed, and the Colorado County Commissioners Court will vote on whether to advance the ESD initiative to the general ballot in May during its Monday, Jan. 27 regular session meeting.
