County lights fire district fuse

It’s later than many wanted, won’t be as large as originally planned and will have to be approved by voters, but the creation of the Custer Fire Protection District is officially underway.
The wheels for the district were set in motion at the May 8 meeting of the Custer County Commission, when the commission directed state’s attorney Tracy Kelley to get a resolution drawn up to create said taxing district. A map of the proposed boundaries has already been created, as it will follow the boundaries of the already-established (non-taxed) Custer Fire Protection District.
The commission listened to a presentation at the meeting that was given by Custer Volunteer Fire Department members Matt and Selena Spring along with Battle Creek Fire District member Dave Lindblom, who has experience in the creation of a fire district.
Absent from the new fire district will be Pringle and Custer Highlands, as both of those departments’ membership declined to join the new district. Argyle Volunteer Fire Department has yet to decide one way or the other, but cannot be a part of the district now anyway since Pringle is not and the land therefore would not be adjacent.
The need for the Custer Fire District has been brought on by the dwindling volunteers within departments. For several years the commission has discussed the decline in volunteers and the need to address ensuring adequate fire protection within the county. A fire district, through an additional tax paid by the residents of the district, would raise money that would pay for full-time firefighters that would supplement the volunteers, who would remain on the department. This would ensure someone was always available to answer a fire call.
Matt Spring said presentations were given to the Pringle, Argyle and Custer Highlands departments as to how the district would work, with the pros and cons laid bare.
When the votes came back Pringle and Highlands had declined to join the district and Argyle had not made a decision. From there the Custer department decided it still need to forge ahead with forming the Custer Fire District.
“I think it’s important people realize times have changed,” commission chairman Jim Lintz said. “We no longer have the volunteers we used to. The number of calls has increased to the point the volunteers can’t handle it. Custer has chosen to look to the future.”
“We really looked at having all the west going to the district but since that doesn’t seem to be the case now, Custer Fire District is going to go ahead on its own. The other fire departments are going to have to decide if they can get by without being a district.”
Lindblom said it was 1998 when the Hermosa Fire Protection District was formed through petition and community vote. At that time the district was formed for funding the fire department needs, such as equipment.
The Hermosa department observed the Keystone department was a combination of paid and volunteer firefighters, and decided to go that route. As that discussion evolved it was determined that combining the Hermosa, Keystone and Heyward departments might be the best course of action. The three were combined through contract, and the Battle Creek Fire District was born.
Commissioner Mike Busskohl asked who set up the initial board of directors for the Custer Fire District if it were to pass. That, Lindblom said, is done via a special election within 60 days of forming the district. Bylaws are formed as well. Custer Fire District also has two years to establish a budget, which determines the mil levy for the district.
It is paramount to set the original budget as close to meeting the Custer Fire District’s needs as possible, as after it is set state law dictates it can only be raised 3 percent or Consumer Price Index plus growth.
Ultimately, the commission would like to see those located within the boundaries of the proposed district vote on whether or not to create the Custer Fire District during November’s general election. That timeline means things must go in motion now and quickly, including public meetings and the city coming on board since the City of Custer will be within the proposed district. The city would also have to pass a resolution, which council members in the audience said they didn’t believe would be an issue. The entire process must be completed by August to be on the November ballot.
Some discussion centered on if it was too late for the other departments to have a change of heart, and also if it was worth the effort to continue to try to get them to do so. Should Pringle, Highlands, etc., decide to form a district down the road, it would have to be a separate district after which annexation talks could potentially occur.
“I think everybody wants them to join, but we can only beg and plead so much,” Selena Spring said. “They have said no. It’s not worth anybody’s time to keep going back to them. They’re adults. We have had multiple meetings with each of them. Custer has got to move forward. That’s where we’re at. It just keeps dragging out.”
In addition to the Battle Creek Fire District, Fairburn has had a fire district for two decades. The departments not in fire districts receive money through a fire fund tax paid for by residents not in fire districts and given to the county’s fire advisory board from the county for distribution to departments not in a fire district. That mil levy currently sits at .204.
Currently that levy raises around $300,000 annually, and is split between the Custer, Argyle, Pringle, Folsom, Dewey and Buffalo Gap departments, although Dewey will soon join the Edgemont Fire Protection District.
Of that $300,000, Custer’s department currently receives around $80,000, but if the Custer Fire District is approved it will take the fire protection district property out of the equation, as the Custer Fire District will collect tax money from that property through a separate mil levy. That means less money for the departments outside the Custer Fire District.  
The question was raised that if a fire broke out in one of the areas that declined to join the Custer Fire District whether or not the Custer department would still respond. Matt Spring said unequivocally the answer was yes, as the departments not only have a mutual aid agreement, but it is simply the right thing to do.
“If someone needs help, we’re going,” he said.
However, under the Custer Fire District the Custer department couldn’t “empty the barn” so to speak, and would have to leave some equipment to be sure the residents in the Custer Fire District still have protection.
Although residents within the district would pay more in taxes, that tax money could be offset by lower insurance premiums due to lower Insurance Services Office (ISO) ratings the district could provide. After analyzing the data it collects, the ISO assigns a Public Protection Classification on a scale from 1 to 10. The higher the ISO fire protection class (with Class 1 being the best), the better the fire response capability. The scores are determined by emergency communication systems; fire departments, covering personnel, capabilities, training, equipment, etc.; water supply; and community risk reduction.
Lindblom said people in the Battle Creek Fire District have saved money, it’s just a matter of shopping around with insurance companies. Within the Battle Creek district, the ISO has dropped from around two points both in rural areas and within town limits, Lindblom said.
Commissioner Mark Hartman asked if there could come a time where the county has to force a fire district or take over fire protection in the county due to a lack of volunteers, since the county is responsible for fire protection. While it can’t force a district, Kelley said, it can force a vote by passing a resolution. Down the road if voters decline a district, the county could investigate taking over fire protection and hiring paid firefighters.
“I don’t think that’s far away if this doesn’t happen,” Hartman said.
Lindblom said there will be issues and hiccups as the Custer Fire District forms, but stressed its a step that must be taken.
“You can’t run a department on pancakes and government trucks,” he said. “It doesn’t work.”
Lindblom added time is of the essence, as even if the Custer Fire District passes this fall it would be mid-2026 before the tax dollars started coming into the distrct due to the other steps that would need to be taken first.
Lintz said later in the discussion that once the primary election is over some commissioners would meet with Game, Fish & Parks brass to discuss having the state pay dues to have Custer State Park become a member of the fire district.
“If Custer forms a district and has full time people, there will be much better response times,” Lintz said. “If it takes you 20 minutes to get there it’s going to be a mop-up operation. If Custer forms a district they’ll have a two-minute response time leaving the hall.”