Fire district meeting moved back two weeks

Organizers of Foothills Fire and Rescue District will get an additional two weeks to revise and bring back the district's proposed budget to the Yuma County Board of Supervisors.

The budget, or impact statement, was scheduled to be presented to the supervisors on Sept. 3 but will now be presented at the board's Sept. 15 meeting.

If supervisors accept the budget and give district backers the go-ahead, they can begin circulating petitions to create the district to provide fire protection in the Foothills. District backers have expressed dissatisfaction with the service provided by Rural/Metro Fire Department.

On Monday, the board of supervisors put off action on the petition drive amid questions over the budget. They set the Sept. 3 date for the district organizers to return with a revised budget.

Bob Tallman, a retired firefighter and organizer of the fire district, requested postponing the date because of the Labor Day weekend.

"I think it'll work better for the supervisors, too, because everybody just finished a big holiday," he said. "We can get more information, we can back up more information by the 15th and that's what they're asking us for."

The meeting is open to the public and will be held at 9 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors Auditorium, 198 S. Main St.

The district proposes to levy a property tax of $1.22 per $100 of assessed valuation to fund operations. The assessed value of a home is 10 percent of its full-cash value.

As required under state law, the district would levy a separate tax rate of 2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for the Arizona Fire District Assistance Fund, which is set up to help cover the operating costs of fire districts in the state. A story in Tuesday's edition incorrectly reported the tax rate would be 10 cents.

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Stephanie Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@yumasun.com or 539-6847.