Timber Mesa Fire & Medical District Bond Presentation History - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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 Ed Lindquist Fire Board (Clerk) Dennis Hughes Fire Board (Chair) Paul Wyatt Fire Chief

• B. Savage

Deputy Chief Operations

• C. Wood

A-Shift BC

• B. Plumley

Station 13 (6) Station 14 (5) Station 15 (6) Station17 (5) Station 19 (2) B-Shift BC

• J. Sample

Station 13 (6) Station 14 (5) Station 15 (6) Station 17 (5) Station 19 (2) C-shift BC

• C. Loney

Station 13 (6) Station 14 (5) Station 15 (6) Station 17 (5) Station 19 (2) Training /HSO

• D. Cluff

Training Captain

• T. Heisler

Training Specialist

• M. Rova (PFD)

Admin Assistant

• D. Elkins

Airport Operations (Station 16) Medical Services

• J. Farkas

Fire Marshal

• B. Russell
• Comm. Risk Mgr.
• K. Webb

Volunteers Administrative Services Human Resources

• J. Baird

Finance

• D. Reed

Receptionist

• C. Weddle

Deputy Chief Logistics

• R. Chevalier

Fleet Services

• N. Crandell

Mechanic

• K. Reading

Mechanic

• B. Mullins

Support Services

• K. McQuillan

Warehouse Facilities IT/ Communications Support Services

• Asst. C. Pulda

Admin Assistant

• L. Jonas

Finance Director Human Resources Consultant Legal Counsel Fire Board Amy Kay Fire Board Lynn Browne- Wagner

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 Max Rate 4.8756 5.1865 5.3775 5.3236 5.5185 5.6136

• Ex. Capacity

$4.96M $5.71M $6.15M $6.69M $7.47M $8.07M *PSPRS **Addition of WMLK ***Addition of 6 new positions

8% Levy +

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 2nd 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 2nd 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,
• ur 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 3rd, 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

Timber Mesa’s GO Bond

• 3. Developing a Training Facility
• Scheduled for 2024 ($7.35 Million)
• Timber Mesa has a demand of more than 26,000 hours of training per year (avg.
• f 270 hours per employee) and no facility to accommodate these training needs.
• For recruitment purposes, Timber Mesa plans to begin an “off-the-street”

academy to train new firefighters. An academy consists of approximately 400 hours of training with a full training cadre and 10-20 students.

• We are a high-risk/low-frequency risk model (the most dangerous) and therefore

training needs to be frequent, consistent, and realistic in order to achieve positive

• utcomes (firefighter and public safety).

Administration, Support Services & Training Facilities Master Plan

(for illustrative purposes only)

Training and Classroom Building

(for illustrative purposes only)

Timber Mesa’s GO Bond

• 4. Remodeling Station 19 (White Mountain Lake)
• Scheduled for 2026 ($1.42 Million)
• Station 19 became part of the Fire District in 2018 as part of consolidation.
• This facility was never built or maintained to house full-time firefighters.

Additionally, the apparatus bays are too small to fit most of the fire apparatus in the District.

• Station 19 needs to be modified to increase the size of the bays, add living

quarters for full time firefighters, and make other improvements to comport with relevant safety standards.

Timber Mesa’s GO Bond

• 5. Apparatus replacement
• Scheduled for various years ($2.15 Million)
• Timber Mesa has successfully updated its front-line fleet of engines and ladders
• ver the past few years. Currently our oldest first out engine is a 2013 (NFPA

affords a 20-year lifespan to fire apparatus).

• We still have much work to do to update all our brush trucks, tenders, etc.
• By funding our large-vehicle (Engines and Ladders) replacement plan through the

Bond, we free up that funding to assist us in catching up on every other class of vehicle.

Bond Repayment

• The repayment of the Bond funds will be amortized over 20 years.
• This means that the projects that occur in the next 7-10 years will be paid

by the residents who actually receive the benefits of the improvements versus only current residents having to pay the full cost today.

• The assumptions (growth rate in LPV, interest rates, etc.) that go in to

determining average expected cost of repayment are very conservative which means that we are presenting the worst-case-scenario on repayment.

Bond Repayment

Timber Mesa’s GO Bond

• Review:
• Timber Mesa is in sound financial shape and can continue to provide service at

current levels indefinitely.

• The Bond was unanimously recommended by a Citizens Advisory Committee,

unanimously approved by the Fire Board to call for an election and received 65% public support in a third-party phone survey.

• The projects in the Bond package will improve firefighter and community safety,

provide for faster response times, and meet the training needs of the organization for the foreseeable future.

• Bond repayment will cost the average homeowner in Timber Mesa $3.47 per

month.

Timber Mesa Fire & Medical District

Bond Presentation Questions?