Uncertainty surrounds fire department funding

Many New Mexicans are fully aware that, with the summer, fire season is just around the corner. But James Canyon Fire Chief Bill Hanson goes further. “Fire season is here,” Hanson said. What is approaching, Hanson said, is the end of the fiscal year. And his volunteer fire department, located just east of Alamogordo, still […]

Uncertainty surrounds fire department funding

Many New Mexicans are fully aware that, with the summer, fire season is just around the corner. But James Canyon Fire Chief Bill Hanson goes further.

“Fire season is here,” Hanson said.

What is approaching, Hanson said, is the end of the fiscal year. And his volunteer fire department, located just east of Alamogordo, still doesn’t know how much money they’ll receive or when the money will arrive.

“We’re two months from the next fiscal year and we still don’t know when the payments are going to come,” Hanson said.

The payments Hanson is wondering about usually come from the state’s Fire Protection Fund and are doled out each year by the state Fire Marshal. During the 2017 state legislative session, however, lawmakers and Gov. Susana Martinez approved a measure to revert money from the fire fund back to the general fund. The bill passed swiftly and early on in the session as part of a legislative solvency package aimed at balancing the state’s budget. Almost as quickly, it got Martinez’s signature to sign it into law.

Now fire departments like Hanson’s are trying to figure out how to craft next year’s budget, without much help from the state’s fire marshal’s office.

“We haven’t heard a word,” Hanson said.

About seven miles south of Alamogordo, Boles Acres Fire Chief John Badjar voiced similar concerns. Badjar said he’s not sure how to map out next year’s budget until he hears from the Fire Marshal.

“I can’t plan my budget on a hope and a prayer,” Badjar said.

He said only about 15 calls to his department so far this year, out of about 140, were fire related, but that he expects those to increase in the coming months. A number of fire calls, Badjar said, come from other jurisdictions asking for help. When that happens, his department is often reimbursed long after the fact.

“With state forestry and the state government, sometimes it takes four, five, six months to get our money back,” Badjar said.

A spokesman for the Public Regulation Commission, which oversees the fire marshal’s office, told NM Political Report the PRC is working to coordinate with state agencies to determine when funds will be distributed to fire departments.

“This distribution schedule will be determined shortly, as we will be meeting with the Working Group in the near future, with an official announcement being made accordingly,” Carlos Padilla, a spokesman for the PRC, wrote in an email.

Padilla added that the formula used to determine a fire department’s need will remain the same.

The Fire Protection Fund is made up of various insurance fees and taxes.

Even the state’s biggest fire departments largely depend on the state money in the Fire Protection Fund. Money disbursed to the Albuquerque Fire Department, for example, makes up about 2.5 percent of the department’s total budget, according to spokeswoman Melissa Romero.

Romero said Albuquerque’s department uses that money for operating expenses that would otherwise not be covered by the city budget.

“We definitely have concerns,” Romero said.

Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, told NM Political Report he’s heard similar complaints from volunteer fire departments in his district. Smith, who voted in favor of the legislative measure, said firefighters often forget that the Fire Protection Fund is made up of taxpayer dollars.

“The big rub is once money is earmarked [they think] it’s no longer taxpayers’ money,” Smith said.

Smith stressed that the Legislature was in a tight spot, tasked with fixing the fiscal year 2017 budget while Gov. Martinez stood firmly on no tax increases.

“It wasn’t as if we had a lot of options at that point,” Smith said, adding the Legislature was forced to “rob Peter to pay Paul.”

Badjar has a slightly different take on the old adage.

“They rob Peter to pay Paul and now we’re trying to figure out how Peter’s going to survive,” Badjar said.

As far as the fire fund being taxpayer’s money, Badjar agrees—to a point.

“My problem is I pay homeowners insurance and I pay for the fire department to be there,” he said.

The Boles Acres Fire Department received about $180,000 from the Fire Protection Fund last year and the James Canyon department got about $75,000. Both chiefs said that money is usually used on personal protective equipment, or PPE, and breathing apparatuses.

Both chiefs also take issue with the Legislature taking money from fire departments, but Badjar specifically has a problem with how seemingly easy it was. The state House of Representatives approved the money transfer only a few weeks into the session and a few days later, the Senate followed.

“The Legislature was already talking before they went into session,” Badjar speculated. “It’s pretty amazing how fast that worked.”

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

A New Mexico-based LGBTQ rights organization endorsed 15 candidates for state House and Senate seats for the 2024 elections.  Marshall Martinez, executive director of…
Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…
Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republican-backed legislation in the U.S. Congress would make it harder for the government to designate new national monuments. The proposed Congressional Oversight of the…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News Four years after hospitals in New York City overflowed with covid-19 patients, emergency physician Sonya Stokes remains shaken by…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Sen. Martin Heinrih and other Senate colleagues introduced abortion rights legislation into the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The Abortion Care Capacity Enhancement and Support…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Senators introduce legislation to aid abortion providers

Sen. Martin Heinrih and other Senate colleagues introduced abortion rights legislation into the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The Abortion Care Capacity Enhancement and Support…
New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid announced on Wednesday that it will cover the cost of Opill, the first oral contraception approved for over-the-counter use. It is…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

The Navajo Nation and San Juan County reached an agreement Monday about commission districts after the tribe alleged that its members were not adequately…
MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

New Mexico’s 2022 election was ranked most well-run in the country by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data and Science Lab’s Elections Performance Index.…
Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Ex-GOP candidate allegedly hired people to kill witnesses in shootings of homes of Democratix politicians

Ex-GOP candidate allegedly hired people to kill witnesses in shootings of homes of Democratix politicians

Republican failed state house candidate Solomon Peña is facing more federal charges, this time on a murder-for-hire scheme.  Peña allegedly tried to hire two…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report