Littleton To Vote On Fire Dept. Consolidation

LITTLETON, CO -- Littleton's city council will vote April 17 on whether to consolidate the three-station Littleton Fire Rescue agency into South Metro Fire Rescue. Last fall, sister agencies Littleton Fire Protection District and Highlands Ranch Metro District agreed to dissolve and join forces with SMFR beginning Jan. 2019, as a way to consolidate resources and spread fire protection coverage. The city said SMFR is an internationally accredited agency and that the proposed merger will help expand fire coverage evenly through the area and provide more resources to deal with larger emergencies.

A first reading of the proposed "Pre-Unification Agreement" passed on a 5-1 vote at the April 3 council meeting. If approved, the issue will appear on the November 6, 2018 ballot. If voters approve the question, a portion of the property tax assessed by the city would be reduced, and SMFR’s 9.25 mill levy would be applied across the entire city.

"[Littleton Fire Rescue] cannot operate as a standalone department, operationally or financially," a statement from the city said. "Besides being cost prohibitive, LFR is not equipped to independently provide adequate response times or standard levels of service with only three stations."

The city hopes by dissolving the department that $3.1 million in tax levies will be freed for street and infrastructure improvements. The consolidated fire service unit would also possibly save money on insurance and other expenses, the city said.

“The city council and staff have studied unification with SMFR for almost two years. We and our partners are in strong agreement that joining SMFR will provide the very best fire and emergency medical service for everyone we serve at the most cost-effective price,” said Debbie Brinkman, Littleton mayor, in a statement.

The city prepared a study that compared costs of merging with Denver Fire and Rescue and West Metro Fire and Rescue. Merging with South Metro would save the city $7.1 million, the presentation said.

A public hearing on the issue will begin at 6:30 p.m. April 17 in the council chamber, 2255 West Berry Avenue. For more information on the unification proposal, visit the LFR Unification page.

Image via City of Littleton