Colfax fire board approves property tax levy of $94,700
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
Editor’s note: LeAnn R. Ralph is chair of the Town of Otter Creek and serves as the chair of the Colfax Community Fire District Board.
COLFAX — As it has been since October of 2012, the property tax levy for the Colfax Community Fire District will be $94,700 for the 2024 budget.
Since the budget and property tax levy have remained the same for the past 12 years, Gary Hill, Colfax fire chief, said he thought he might have to increase the budget and tax levy by a small amount for 2024.
Hill said he has submitted several grant applications, including a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for new air packs for the firefighters.
If the fire department does not receive any grants, then those items would have to be covered in the regular budget.
Turn-out gear may also may have to be replaced for the firefighters.
Currently, the requirement is that turn-out gear is replaced every 10 years, Hill said.
At a recent conference, Hill said, he had learned there is the possibility that the time could be extended when turn-out gear must be replaced.
Turn-out gear used by fire departments in big cities with full-time firefighters might be used several times a day, he said.
For the Colfax fire department, some of the turn-out gear that is reaching its retirement age may have only been used once or twice a year, Hill said.
The proposal is to extend the life of turn-out gear for rural fire departments to 20 years, he said.
If the requirement for replacing turn-out gear is extended to 20 years, that would be helpful for the budgets of rural fire departments, Hill said.
The cost for turn-out coats can be $2,000 to $3,000 each, and the turn-out pants cost another $1,000. Then the boots are $300 to $400 for each pair, he said.
Completely replacing the turn-out gear all at once for 20 firefighters would cost nearly $90,000.
Some of the firefighters’ boots are wearing out, so the boots will have to be replaced as needed, Hill noted.
The fire board has approved purchasing a new fire engine at a cost of about $575,000 that is expected to be delivered in October of 2025, Hill said.
The municipalities in the fire district are already working on figuring out how to pay their share of the new fire engine, so Hill said he did not want to increase the budget right now and make it more difficult financially for the municipalities.
Mark Dietsche, chair of the Town of Grant, pointed out that is essential to keep the firefighters’ gear in good working order and that it should be replaced as necessary.
Vehicle replacement
The Colfax Community Fire District currently has a 13-month certificate of deposit for vehicle replacement at Bremer Bank of $123,047.38, and a 13-month CD for vehicle replacement of $200,000 at BMO Bank.
Both CDs are earning around 5 percent interest.
The Colfax fire board sets aside $20,000 each year for vehicle replacement, and if there is money left over from the previous year’s budget, those funds also are deposited in the vehicle replacement fund.
If the CDs can be renewed under the same or similar terms, the Colfax fire board anticipates having about $400,000 to put toward the new fire engine, leaving the municipalities in the fire district to fund approximately $175,000.
Tax levy
The Colfax Community Fire District includes the Towns of Colfax, Grant and Otter Creek and the Village of Colfax.
The property tax levy is divided among the municipalities based on the percentage of equalized value in the fire district
For 2024, the Town of Colfax will pay a levy of $38,348.34.
The Town of Colfax has an equalized value of $148,529,600, representing 40.5 percent of the equalized value in the fire district.
The Village of Colfax will pay a levy of $21,724.77.
The Village of Colfax has an equalized value of $84,143,700, representing 22.9 percent of the equalized value in the fire district.
The Town of Grant will pay a levy of $15,649.05.
The Town of Grant has an equalized value of $60,611,400, representing 16.5 percent of the equalized value in the fire district.
The Town of Otter Creek will pay a levy of $18,977.84.
The Town of Otter Creek has an equalized value of $73,504,400, representing 20 percent of the equalized value in the fire district.
Last year, the fire district had a total equalized value of $300,730,900.
For 2024, the fire district’s equalized value is $366,789,200, representing an increase of $66 million.
In 2021, the fire district’s equalized value was $266,413,400.
In the past three years, the fire district’s equalized value has increased by $100 million.
2024 budget
The balanced budget approved by the Colfax fire board for 2024 is $112,700.
In addition to a property tax levy of $94,700, revenue includes $10,500 for fire runs, $6,300 in 2 percent dues, $500 in miscellaneous revenue, $200 in water sales and $500 from the Bremer grant fund.
The total revenue for the 2024 budget is $112,700.
The expenses include clothing, fire hall maintenance, insurance, office expenses, payroll for the firefighters and the officers, small equipment, staff development that includes conventions and training, truck expenses and utilities.
The total for expenses is $112,700.
2 percent dues
Several fire board members had questions about the 2 percent dues, which are received by the municipalities and then are forwarded to the fire department.
To receive the 2 percent dues, the fire department must provide public fire education, complete fire inspections and provide training for firefighters, Hill said.
The 2 percent dues are paid by all insurance companies that do business in Wisconsin to provide fire insurance. The insurance companies must pay the state 2 percent of the premiums they have collected for insurance loss as the result of a fire, according to the Wisconsin Legislative Council.
The funds are collected by the Department of Safety and Professional Services and are distributed to qualifying municipalities. The municipalities then forward the money to the fire department that provides service for the municipalities.
To qualify for 2 percent dues, the municipality must have a fire department that provides fire protection and has a fire chief; the fire department must be able to respond with at least four firefighters, none of whom are the fire chief, although the number of firefighters that respond to a fire alarm can also include fire departments that provide mutual aid.
In addition, the fire department must provide a training program approved by DSPS, including biannual training to prepare firefighters to safely perform their duties as well as monthly training for all firefighters.
The fire department must also have a facility that can receive a fire alarm and can dispatch the firefighters and apparatus, and must keep the records required for fires.
The final requirement is that the fire department must complete fire inspection duties and provide fire education services for the public, according to the Wisconsin Legislative Council.
Extrication tool
Hill said that the firefighters are often asked how they use the money that is raised during the annual Colfax Firefighters’ Ball.
Over the years, the Colfax Firefighters’ Association has purchased many items for the fire department and has contributed money toward outfitting tanker trucks and purchasing other equipment.
The philosophy of past fire chiefs and the current fire chief is that the money should be used for something to benefit the community that so generously supports the Firefighters’ Ball and the fire department.
One recent example is that the Colfax fire department has purchased an extrication tool that uses a battery, Hill said.
The extrication tool costs between $14,000 and $15,000, he said.
Money from the Firefighters’ Association’s gun raffle and the Firefighters’ Ball was used to purchase the extrication tool, Hill said.
Two or three cars can be cut apart using one battery, he said.
The advantage to an extrication tool that uses a battery is that it is much easier to transport and to set it up where it is needed, Hill said, noting that the extrication tool will be delivered after January 1.
Plans for the Colfax Firefighters’ Ball next year include having some of the equipment purchased with funds raised by the fire department at the fairgrounds so people can see how it works, he said.
Fire chief’s wages
At a previous meeting, the fire board had asked Hill to find out what other fire chiefs in the area are being paid.
Hill was being paid $2,500 per year. The fire chiefs in Boyceville and Elk Mound are being paid several thousand dollars a year more than Hill was being paid. The fire chief in Sand Creek receives more than $1,000 a year less than the Colfax fire chief.
When asked when the fire chief’s wages were last increased, Hill said the fire chief’s compensation had remained the same for many years.
Hill also said he did not want to be “that guy” who just starts out as the fire chief and then gets an increase in wages right away.
Don Logslett, the previous fire chief, had announced his intention in October of 2021 to step down as fire chief when his term ended in January of 2022.
Hill had been serving as the assistant fire chief and was first appointed as fire chief in January of 2022.
Members of the fire board expressed the opinion that the Colfax fire chief’s wages should be increased.
The fire board had already approved the budget for 2024, but did approve a motion to increase the fire chief’s wages by $500 annually.
The fire board intends to review the chief’s wages and the firefighters’ wages again next October.
The firefighters received an increase in pay starting January 1 of this year.
Prior to the discussion of the fire chief’s wages, the Colfax Community Fire District Board appointed Hill to a term as fire chief from 2024 to 2026.
