Fire District approves proposed FY 23 budget

The Lincoln Rural Fire District board approved their proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2023 at their May 26 meeting, but ongoing increases in fuel costs have added a degree of uncertainty.

LRFD chairman Dick Birkholz said the district currently has regular base funding of $63,480. Additional funding from a pair of $34,198 mill levies for Fire and Emergency Medical Services brings their total tax base revenue to to $131,876.

Birkholz said they adjusted a few things in the budget, including bumping up the budgets for propane and fuel.

"We have no idea where those are going to be, so we put what we thought might cover it and will just have to see where that's at," he said.

This year's budget saw changes to the district expenditures. In the last year, the district put quite a bit of money into costs associated with repairing and upgrading Station 4, the building bought from Chris Waits in 2019. However, the district was also able to pay off the property with the help of the Fire Company, which had received an anonymous $10,000 donation for the building. The firefighters also kicked in an extra $5000 from money earned from the Fireman's Ball, donations and income earned from state and federal agencies related to wildland firefighting.

Birkholz explained that the district operating budget was set at $115,518, with the Fire Chief's budget set at $6000 and an EMS budget for department of $2500.

"The total operating budget of $120,018 is within $11,000 of our tax base," Birkholz said, adding that it may depend on what happens with the cost of propane and fuel. "Hopefully, we put enough in there to cushion for that. If propane goes to $3 (per gallon) and fuel goes to $5 (per gallon), we might blow the budget."

Birkholz said they're trying to keep the budget down below the tax base so they can build the district coffers back up.

The proposed budget allows the district to provide Lewis and Clark County with an operating budget to turn into the county. The final budget will be completed later this year, after all the final numbers are in.

Lincoln Fire Chief Zach Muse told the BVD after the meeting that fuel costs are a "big time" issue for the fire department.

"We spent the budget for fuel two months ago," he said. "A lot of that is because we've been getting a lot of calls at the far ends of our protection. We were getting calls on Rogers (Pass) nonstop. On those big trucks it costs $350. And we were doing some trainings we need to do. It's a cost of doing business, but its gonna hurt us."

He said if gas prices rise as high as some people are predicting, they will be spending money on fuel that would normally be spent on equipment. Although they did buy equipment they will need, such as wildland firefighting gear, to try to stay ahead of the price increases, he said they know it's coming and will have to bite the bullet eventually.

One bright spot is that the fire company has its own pool of money to draw from, separate from the tax-base income the district receives. Muse said the fire company brought in a decent amount of money last year through the Fireman's Ball and by making their big water tender available to the Forest Service last summer. "It's money that goes to the company. We turn around and pay for things the district can't pay for right now."

That pool of money is used to cover the cost of fuel for the firefighter's training.

Since the firefighters have the say in where that money is spent, Muse has also been able to use it to buy some items, such as gloves and other equipment, that would normally come out of the chief's budget from the district. That in turn has helped save the district tax-base money. "It all goes right back," he said. "It's just that we have the say in what we spend it on, versus the district saying we have to spend it this way."

The board meeting also saw Don LaRoque sworn in for another term as a fire district trustee. The district didn't hold an election this year due to a lack of candidates. With LaRoque as the sole candidate for the open seat, he was appointed by acclimation.

Likewise, the meeting served and an opportunity to re-organize the leadership of the board, but the trustees present saw no need to change things up, with Birkholz remaining as board chair and Gary Wiesner as vice chair.

In his report to the trustees, Muse said they saw their first fire of the season May 25, albeit a tiny one. Burning yard waste ignited some grass and burned a part of the embankment on the northeast side of Stemple Bridge but burned only a couple hundred square feet of dead grass and weeds. He said they also dealt with a campfire in the Stonewall Creek area that was left burning, likely by kids having a party.

Muse also reported that a new side-by-side the firefighters have been modifying for use in firefighting or off-road rescue is finished and ready to go. He said the work was funded mostly through grants.

The fire department has also received their 12 new handheld radios, funded by a grant from the Montana Department of Transportation. Muse said the addition of the new radios will allow everyone in the department to have a radio, until the old ones fail completely.

Muse told the trustees the fire company is doing very well this year, with 20 firefighters to routinely respond to calls, as well as three cadets.