Rocky Ford Rural Fire Board Reviews EMS Funding Concerns, Potential Staffing Cuts and Possible Solutions

Description: The Rocky Ford Rural Fire Protection District Board discussed possible City of Rocky Ford Fire/EMS staffing cuts, rural EMS service gaps, funding options, wildland deployment revenue, and the need for future work sessions with Rocky Ford city officials.

Rural Fire Board Meeting 05/18/2026 Key Outcomes

The Rocky Ford Rural FPD board discussed City of Rocky Ford Fire/EMS potential staffing cuts, and no EMS services for the rural community in the intergovernmental agreement with the city. No immediate decisions were made; the district will schedule additional work sessions with the city to explore funding mechanisms, as the Rural Fire Protection District currently has no charter obligation or intergovernmental agreement for EMS services.

Financial Status

Balance Sheet (as of meeting date):

• Total bank accounts and savings: $594,745

• Year-to-date net income: $119,907.98

Income (YTD):

• Fire deployment reimbursements: $551,148

• Property tax income: $48,352

• Grant revenue: $14,959

• Total income: $627,048.45

Expenses (YTD):

• Fire deployment payments to city: $375,859

• Apparatus lease (Engine 3): $55,337

• Repairs and maintenance: $25,105

• Professional fees: $8,526

• Total expenses: $507,140.47

• Engine 3 outstanding lease balance: $293,000

Decisions Made

• Financial reports approved: Board approved balance sheet, profit/loss statement, and monthly bills after review

• Minutes approved: Previous meeting minutes accepted

EMS Service Analysis Discussion Fire Chief

Call Volume (5-year trend, 2021-2025):

• Rural area calls: 2,176 (36% of total)

• City calls: 5,133 (64% of total)

• Total calls: 8,009

Response Performance (2025):

• Average response time: 4 minutes for 90% of emergent responses

• Total emergent responses analyzed: 625 units

• Non-emergent responses increase average to 4 minutes 6 seconds 

Financial Impact (5-year analysis):

• Total city Fire/EMS 5-year avg expenditures (3 departments): $7,378,597.18

• Total city Fire/EMS 5-year avg revenue collected (3 departments): $3,893,191.01

• General fund 5-year avg contribution after revenue from Fire/EMS: $3,485,406.17

• Cost per call (both city and rural): $435.19(5-year average/call)

• Annual rural cost estimates: $87.03 per call

Collection Challenges:

• Current EMS billing estimated collection rate: approximately 32% of billings

• Over 60% of clientele are Medicaid/Medicare patients with lower reimbursement rates

• No city policy currently exists for aggressive collections on unpaid bills for EMS

Wildland Deployment Status

2026 Revenue (current):

• Total reimbursement to date: approximately $125,000

• Outstanding paperwork submitted; billing turnaround estimated at 5-6 months for majority of claims

Sustainability Analysis:

• Approximately 5 deployments annually needed to match previous year's revenue 17

• Wildland program could support $100,000-$150,000 annual contribution to EMS if not constrained by apparatus payment.

Funding Options Presented to address challengesThe fire board presented multiple options for board consideration (no votes taken):

1. Mill levy override - Requires voter approval; previous attempt failed 5 years ago in district with ~4,000 voters (majority residing in city limits)

2. Contract with private provider - Faster service maintenance but introduces new dependencies

3. Volunteer-based service - Challenges with consistent response, recruitment, and retention

4. Special EMS district formation - Requires voter approval and mill levy determination

5. Reallocate wildland funding - Reduce wildland budget allocation to fund intergovernmental agreement with city

6. City Council initiated Sales tax increase for public safety within city limits - Would capture revenue from travelers passing through Rocky Ford

7. Fire authority model - County-wide authority absorbing all rural districts. Although would reduce local control.

8. Fee-for-service model - State statute now allows rural fire districts to charge fees for services (accidents, etc.); Trinidad currently uses third-party billing for this model for motor vehicle accidents and Hazmat accidents only.

Operational Context

Staffing Impact:

• City could potentially repeat last year’s threatened 4-position reduction (40-50% of staff) during last budget cycle planning.

• Current staff provides multiple functions beyond firefighting and EMS responses: grant writing, mechanical repairs, janitorial, plumbing/hvac, IT support, mandatory reporting, building maintenance and inspection, fire inspections, community relations - saving both city and rural costs.

• Staffing reductions, as well as increased response times would negatively impact the District and City ISO rating (currently @ level 3/3y, improved from 2014 from 8/8B), increasing insurance costs for district and city taxpayers.

Equipment Status:

• Engine 3 (2023) is newest apparatus; remaining fleet is 30-40 years old with no plan requested for replacement

• In-house mechanics save "astronomical amounts saved" on maintenance and repair costs.

• New fire truck costs have increased from $350,000 (5 years ago) to over $750,000 currently.

Intergovernmental Agreements:

• Rocky Ford Rural Fire Protection District charter covers fire suppression services only; no EMS provision in creed or bylaws.

• EMS has been provided to the rural community with no funds required from the City for 60 plus years, and no agreements in place requiring city to respond outside city limits.

• Changing rural charter to include EMS would require formal amendments, and additional costs to support requested help with staffing costs to city general fund.

• City currently owns ambulance service; it was noted previous request for 50% ownership by rural district was discussed in previous years with no actions taken by city or rural. Information lacking and unconfirmed statement as true.

Pending Confirmation

• Additional work sessions with Rocky Ford City Council to be scheduled some time.

• La Junta Fire Protection District agreement to be obtained as reference model for EMS/fire authority structure.

• Trinidad fee-for-service model details to be researched for potential rural district billing structure.

• Breakdown of expenses specific to wildland deployments (separate from general operations) for audit purposes.

• County billing analysis for mutual aid calls outside Rocky Ford Rural Fire Protection District boundaries.

Open Questions

• Liability exposure: Has the city evaluated potential liability for discontinuing previously provided rural EMS services?

• Mutual aid coordination: If city suspends rural EMS, what is the protocol for contacting La Junta or AMR for response? Contacting city staff was never mentioned as an option since city would potentially charge the rural.

• IFT program sustainability: Non-emergent interfacility transfer program (approximately 100-300 calls annually) could be discontinued, affecting revenue projections.

• Ownership structure: If rural district contributes funding through mill levy, would there be shared ownership of ambulance assets?

• Rural/City Collaboration: If rural district decides to not use city for EMS services, then potential negative collaborative consequences may affect response times for community as well as reduced services city provides for the rural district board operations requirements (i.e. station housing, station meetings, mandatory reporting, grant writing, equipment care).

Action Items

• Colin: Provide online credit card access login information to Kelsey for account management.

• Ray/Nikki: Follow up with City Council to schedule extended work session on EMS funding options.

• Ray: Obtained copy of La Junta Fire Protection District intergovernmental agreement for EMS services.

• Ray: Brandon researched Trinidad's fee-for-service billing model and third-party billing company details to see how to supplement into our revenue generating.

• Colin: Complete and submit outstanding wildland deployment paperwork to state for reimbursement processing.

• Kelsey: Continue coordinating with city on billing split agreement (approximately 1% cost share) to expedite revenue collection.

Next Meeting

Date: June 15, 2025

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Rocky Ford Rural Fire Board Reviews EMS Funding Concerns, Potential Staffing Cuts and Solutions

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