For many years now the District has been faced with quickly escalating costs on essential items such as emergency vehicles and personal protective equipment for first responders.
As shown in the tables below, by 2030 Poudre Fire Authority will no longer be able to keep pace with replacing emergency vehicles using existing funding levels. To address this gap, new revenue (approximately $4.2 million projected for 2033) could be allocated to support the replacement of apparatus that have reached the end of their useful life.
For example, a Brush Truck cost $190,000 in 2017 and costs approximately $369,000 in 2026 which is more than a 91% increase.
A Fire Engine five cost $819,161 in 2021 and cost $1.35 million in 2024 which is a 67.8% increase.
When emergency vehicles reach the end of their useful life they need to be replaced. The District is spacing out the purchases over time to be economical and judicious with our limited budget, but additional revenue is needed to keep up with inflationary costs. Here are two of the planned replacement schedules for different types of emergency vehicles.
Even the annual lease on our Chevy Silverado has gone up 88.3% from $7,217 in 2021 to $13,586 in 2026.
Day-to-day costs for other basic items such as the bunker gear used by firefighters every day have continued to rise as well.
The coat and pants (firefighter bunker gear) cost $2,707 in 2021 and costs $3,963 in 2026, which is a 46.4% increase.
The bottom line is: costs for the District have increased approximately 10.69% from 2022 to 2026, and the cap only allows funding to increase by 5.25%.
Learn more about the Impact to Emergency Services and compare the revenue picture with and without the cap on our Revenue Limit page.
