COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) -The Cimarron Hills Fire District on Tuesday said they have initiated a ballot measure that will help them recover funds lost due to property tax deductions.

The Fire District is proposing ballot measure 6A, which would allow them to collect up to 1% sales tax in the district and generate $2.4 million in revenue.

This followed a special session in August where lawmakers passed property tax cut legislation that would allow Coloradans to pay less taxes on their homes but cut funding that many fire districts in the state rely on.

The Cimarron Hills fire district has lost about $450,000 in funding so far due to tax deductions, according to 6A. The fire chief expects to lose hundreds of thousands more jobs by 2028 and says the department can’t hire more staff with the current budget.

“Citizens will have faster response times because we will have staff able to respond to multiple calls at the same time. We don’t have the means to do this right now. At Cimarron Hills we pride ourselves on an average response time of 5 to 6 1/2 minutes, and if we have to call for mutual aid those times are often up to approximately 10 to 12 minutes,” said Cimarron Hills Fire Chief Andrew York.

A statement was sent from the Governorship on August 11:

“Governor Polis appreciates the concerns of our fire districts and wants to raise the bar on fire preparedness in Colorado. This includes signing legislation to avoid costly and risky ballot measures that would defund fire districts; will do so after the measures are lifted. “Earlier today, Governor Polis met with the Executive Director of the State Fire Marshals and two Statewide Fire Marshals and is committed to seeking additional opportunities to support Colorado’s fire districts, including potential other revenue sources.”

11 News has reached out to Governor Polis’ office for an updated statement and we will update this article if we receive any new information.

For our previous coverage, Click here.

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