Timber Mesa Fire & Medical District Bond Presentation
History ry of f Timber Mesa • Timber Mesa Fire & Medical District was formed in 2014 as the result of successful collaboration and the merger of the Lakeside, Linden and Show Low Fire Districts. • In 2018 The Director of the Department of Health Services awarded Timber Mesa an expanded CON to provide ambulance services throughout the Fire District and beyond. • In 2018 the White Mountain Lake Fire District was consolidated to become a part of Timber Mesa.
History ry of f Timber Mesa • Timber Mesa now services 216 square miles with an ambulance service area (CON) that covers 440 square miles. • The District provides service to more than 34,500 full-time residents with a seasonal population that grows to more than 55,000 (est.). • In 2019 Timber Mesa responded to more than 5,500 call for service.
History ry of f Timber Mesa • Timber Mesa currently has 93 fulltime employees: • 80 in the Operations Section (spread over three shifts) • 6 in the Administration Section • 7 in the Logistics Section • We operate out of 5 staffed fire stations, one airport station and the administration/support services facility. • We have a training division in cooperation with the Pinetop Fire District.
Fire Board Fire Board Fire Board (Clerk) Fire Board (Chair) Fire Board Lynn Browne- Ed Lindquist Dennis Hughes Paul Wyatt Amy Kay Wagner Legal Counsel Fire Chief B. Savage Finance Human Resources Consultant Director Deputy Chief Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Administrative Operations Logistics Services B. Russell C. Wood R. Chevalier A-Shift BC B-Shift BC C-shift BC Training /HSO Medical Services Comm. Risk Mgr. Human Resources Admin Assistant B. Plumley J. Sample C. Loney D. Cluff J. Farkas K. Webb J. Baird L. Jonas Station 13 Station 13 Station 13 Training Captain Finance Fleet Services Support Services Volunteers (6) (6) (6) T. Heisler D. Reed N. Crandell K. McQuillan Station 14 Station 14 Station 14 Training Specialist Receptionist Mechanic Support Services Asst. C. Pulda (5) (5) (5) M. Rova (PFD) C. Weddle K. Reading Station 15 Station 15 Station 15 Admin Assistant Mechanic Warehouse (6) (6) (6) D. Elkins B. Mullins Airport Station17 Station 17 Station 17 Operations Facilities (5) (5) (5) (Station 16) Station 19 Station 19 Station 19 IT/ (2) (2) (2) Communications
History ry of f Timber Mesa • Since its creation, Timber Mesa has outperformed every financial projection and saved its taxpayers more than $2M per year. • Timber Mesa has been recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for Excellence in Financial Reporting for each of the last three years. • Timber Mesa is financially stable and able to continue current operations indefinitely into the future.
Financial History ry of f Timber Mesa Year 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Tax Levy 6,971,777 7,180,930 7,763,338 8,339,347 8,762,921 9,457,988 Levy Growth -4.3% 3% 8.1%* 7.4%** 5.1% 7.9%*** LP Value $244.7M $248.5M $258.8M $282.3M** $294.2M $312.3M LPV Growth .56% 1.53% 4.2% 9.1%** 4.2% 7.3% Tax Rate 2.8488 2.8901 2.9997 2.9997 2.9789 2.9964 Est. Tax Rate $2.85 $3.02 3.05 3.07 Max Levy $11,931,951 $12,886,507 $13,917,428 $15,030,822 $16,233,288 $17,531,951 8% Max Rate 4.8756 5.1865 5.3775 5.3236 5.5185 5.6136 Levy + Ex. Capacity $4.96M $5.71M $6.15M $6.69M $7.47M $8.07M *PSPRS **Addition of WMLK ***Addition of 6 new positions
Accomplishments of f Timber Mesa • 2014 Merger resulting in improved services and $2M annual savings • 2015 Application for expanded CON • 2015 Purchase of Administration and Support Services site • 2016 TMFMD Awarded Premier Provider status through AzDHS • 2016 First ever MOU with WM Firefighters – TM Chapter • 2017 Amended Fire Code to the 2015 IFC • 2017 Top of the Woods designated as the first Fire Wise community • 2017 Began rebuild of station 17 • 2017 District adopts first ever Comprehensive Annual Financial Report • 2018 St. 17 completed, dedicated to the service of the Linden community.
Accomplishments of f Timber Mesa • 2018 Timber Mesa awarded expanded CON • 2018 Scene Support Truck placed in service for FF safety and rehab • 2018 Awarded first ever GFOA award for excellence in financial reporting • 2018 Consolidation of the White Mountain Lake FD into Timber Mesa • 2019 Awarded 2 nd GFOA award for excellence in financial reporting • 2019 Adopted lower tax rate than that which was projected in the WMLK consolidation. • 2019 Earns ISO Class III rating (Top 25% of FDs nationally) • 2019 Timber Mesa celebrates five-year anniversary having saved more than $10M for local taxpayers.
Accomplishments of f Timber Mesa • 2019 Began phase in of 2 nd set of turn-outs (cancer prevention) • 2019 Training in Blue Card Incident Command procedures. • 2020 Completed first ever engineer academy • 2020 Added fifth rescue at station 14 • 2020 Applied for 9 new firefighters through SAFER • 2020 Installation of OPTICOM traffic preemption system • 2020 IGA with the City of Show Low for cost recovery at SL Airport • 2020 Unanimous recommendation from Citizens Advisory Committee to pursue bond funding; unanimous vote of Fire Board to call for election.
Why a Bond? • As stated, Timber Mesa can continue to provide services at current levels, and from current facilities, indefinitely into the future. • We have opportunities to improve our community and firefighter safety, our services, our response times, and our fleet of fire apparatus. • While Timber Mesa can continue to perform at current levels, we cannot make the necessary improvements under the current statutory framework without Bond funding.
General Obligation (G (GO) Bond • GO Bonds are a financing tool used by fire districts and other government entities; they are essentially investor loans granted based on the full faith and credit of the District (its tax base). • GO bonds are voter approved and to be used for capital purchases only. They cannot be used for operating expenses. • By using a Bond to fund capital items, the line-item budget is relieved of those same capital needs (lease purchase agreements, etc.)
Timber Mesa’s GO Bond • In 2019 the Fire Board directed the Fire Chief to assemble a citizen’s advisory committee to determine whether a BOND was appropriate for the Fire District. • That Committee agreed that the District should pursue a Bond for the projects identified and for the amount indicated but was concerned about competing ballot initiatives. • The 2019 committee made a recommendation to the Fire Board that they should not pursue a Bond in 2019 but should proceed with an election in 2020.
Timber Mesa’s GO Bond • In 2020 another Citizens Advisory Committee was formed including business people, political leaders and citizens of the District. • The 2020 Bond committee unanimously voted to recommend to the Fire Board that Timber Mesa should call for an election for an $18.9M Bond. • A phone survey of Timber Mesa residents conducted by an independent polling company revealed 65% community support for the Bond initiative. • In May of 2020, the Timber Mesa Fire Board unanimously voted to call for an election on November 3 rd , 2020.
Timber Mesa’s GO Bond • Timber Mesa’s Bond package includes: 1. Retiring Long-term Lease Purchase Obligations ($3.53M) 2. Relocating Station 15 ($4.42M) 3. Developing a Training Facility ($7.35M) 4. Remodeling Station 19 ($1.415M) 5. Purchasing Fire Engines and a Ladder Truck ($2.15M) • The Bond is scheduled for two separate sales in order to keep the tax rate for repayment of the Bond as low as possible. ($0.33)
Timber Mesa’s GO Bond 1. Retiring Long-Term Lease Purchase Obligations: • Scheduled for 2021 ($3.53 Million) • Annual debt service has the real effect of $.14 on the District’s primary tax rate. Potentially reducing Fire District tax rate from $2.99 to $2.85. • Statutorily, Fire Districts are limited to a tax rate of $3.25 per $100 of Limited Property Value (LPV) • At $2.99 the Fire District only has 8% capacity to absorb future financial pressures (PSPRS, Healthcare Cost, Workers Compensation, etc.)
Timber Mesa’s GO Bond 2. Relocating Station 15 • Scheduled for 2023 ($4.42 Million) • Originally planned for remodel, the current station 15 has several issues that need to be addressed (NFPA, ADA, etc.). This is important to firefighter and public safety. • Upon further review, Station 15 is poorly located relative to the center of call volume in the area; poor access to highway through uncontrolled intersections, school zones and residential neighborhoods. • It is estimated to save between 30-60 seconds in response times from a more advantageous location (Deuce of Clubs and Central)
Station 15 Location Relative to Call Volume 30 seconds savings in response times = greater survivability during cardiac events and during exponential fire growth
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