Latest news with #LaramieCountyFireAuthority
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
LCFA awarded $180,000 from Wyoming to rebuild Fire Station 74
CHEYENNE – Wyoming's top five elected officials voted Wednesday to award $180,000 in emergency mineral royalty grant funding to the Laramie County Fire Authority to rebuild a fire station that burned down in mid-January. LCFA Chief Jason Caughey told state officials a staff member was welding one of the fire trucks in Fire Station 74 a few hours before the fire was spotted. The staff member went home around 4 p.m., three-and-a-half hours before the witnesses driving down Yellowstone Road spotted the fire. 'It appears that where he was welding, it was the ignition source,' Caughey said. Last week, Caughey approached the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) to ask for $250,000 in emergency MRG funding. This amount made up the 32% of construction costs to rebuild the fire station that wasn't covered by insurance. The Office of State Lands and Investments, which oversees this grant funding, found this project did not meet the 'emergency' threshold. It deferred the LCFA's application for regular mineral royalty grant (MRG) funding, which would be approved during the board's special meeting in June. The state fire marshal and Wyoming forestry division echoed this recommendation. However, Caughey said LCFA couldn't wait that long for funding. The Laramie County Planning Department utilizes an emergency building permit program in the event of a natural disaster or fire. If the facility is rebuilt within one year, 'it doesn't have to jump through all of the same hoops that a normal building process would.' 'By not being able to complete this project within one year, it's going to cost us and the taxpayers a significant amount more money,' Caughey said. 'To rebuild that same existing station today, I anticipate 25% more.' Without the emergency grant funding, Caughey said the county fire authority would have to take out a loan, and the interest would be paid for by Laramie County taxpayers. An OSLI staff member said during last week's SLIB meeting the application was incomplete, missing two documents. SLIB members agreed to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the matter, once the documents were submitted. In both meetings, State Auditor Kristi Racines asked Caughey if a $100,000 grant would be sufficient. Caughey answered that partial funding 'would be greatly appreciated.' 'It allows us to continue this project moving forward without throwing the bigger wrench of no (state) funding into this project,' he said. State Treasurer Curt Meier asked about the details of the newly constructed fire house, such as installing a fire alarm system that's tied into a central system. Caughey said a centralized monitoring system will be installed, 'which will give us early detection of any events that happened in that building.' Racines moved to grant $180,000 in emergency MRG funding, which passed the board. Caughey later told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle the LCFA will be able to absorb the remaining $70,000 into its current funding mechanisms, without any impact on local taxpayers. 'We're grateful for the support of the State Land Investment Board today, for funding the additional $180,000 toward the rebuild of Station 74,' Caughey said. 'We don't believe the difference that's remaining will have any impact on the project.'
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Yahoo
Laramie County rallies behind injured firefighter, hosts fundraiser
CHEYENNE — First responders in Laramie County have rallied together to raise money for a Laramie firefighter who was critically injured in the line of duty. While responding to a structure fire on Feb. 28 north of Laramie, Dylan Schilt was critically injured. A building collapse left him with severe injuries, including a collapsed lung, broken ankle and a spinal injury resulting in paralysis. The Cheyenne community immediately responded to Schilt's injuries with thoughts and prayers, financial support and efforts to hold events to raise funds for the family. This included a spaghetti dinner and auction fundraiser Friday evening, organized by the Laramie County Fire Authority, Laramie County Sheriff's Office, Laramie County Fire District 10 and the Laramie Fire Department. 'This is a fellow brother, let's take care of him,' LCSO Chief Deputy Aaron Veldheer said. 'Help him out as much as we can and see what we can do. Because the only way we know if we can help is if we try.' Veldheer noted that while law enforcement and firefighters might jokingly poke fun at each other, they ultimately have a deep mutual respect for the lifesaving and essential safety roles they play in their communities. That means when someone's injured, you rally behind them. Dylan Schilt Fundraiser Flyer 'Looking at the different situations, what firefighters do, what police do, what sheriff's deputies do, it can be very scary,' Veldheer said. 'Those people put their fear aside to go out and try and make the world a better place. And that's what he was trying to do that night. Trying to save somebody's house, making the best of a bad situation and helping that family. I think it's important and imperative that we get out and do what we can to help him, as well.' Dylan Schilt's father, Mike Schilt, has been updating the community via Facebook on his son's condition. A few weeks into recovery, he posted to Facebook that the ongoing messages, prayers and community support are greatly appreciated. 'Dylan wants to be challenged more, but there are some physical challenges that are currently preventing him from moving more quickly,' Mike Schilt posted to Facebook. 'We choose to believe that with perseverance and prayer, he will be able to overcome these obstacles in time. 'Dylan has expressed, quite often, that he is so appreciative of all the texts, calls and visits from so many people. I can tell you, as a father, even though it's been just a little over three weeks since the accident, people continue to want updates and are praying for Dylan. This is so encouraging for all of us.' Laramie County Fire District 10 assistant fire chief Jason Ruff highlighted the need for firefighters to feel valued by their communities. 'Laramie County and our neighboring counties do an absolutely wonderful job of supporting their people any time that there's a need,' Ruff said. 'You know, agencies come together, firefighters come together, leadership comes together. And any time something like this happens, it's guaranteed support.' Dylan Schilt's father echoed the need to support first responders in his most recent Facebook update dated March 24. 'We need to pray for and encourage all of our first responders; they go through so much mentally and physically,' Mike Schilt wrote. 'Each time there is an emergency call, responders know that they may be going to a situation that is the worst day, ever, in a person's life, and they are about to become part of that.' Elks Lodge fundraiser flyer Even though Dylan Schilt's injuries were suffered in Albany County, Laramie County first responders still have been compelled to help him through his recovery. Veldheer added that first responders often have the same types of insurance the average person does, and when you experience mental and physically significant injuries, there's only so much insurance can cover. 'I think that the true strength of a person isn't how much we can take our experiences and try and hide the effects of that event but share with others who may be dealing with a similar experience; to help each other,' Mike Schilt wrote. 'God didn't create us to walk alone in this life; He gave us others that need us as much as we need them.' The fundraiser in Cheyenne included dinner, a raffle and an auction at Fire Station 72, 410 Horse Creek Road. Even if people were unable to attend, they are still encouraged to donate what they can to the Schilt family at
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
First responders warn bill proposing 50% property tax cut risks public safety
CHEYENNE — Local first responders are pushing back against a bill that would provide major property tax exemptions for single-family residential structures at the expense of funding for law enforcement and local first responders. Senate File 69, 'Homeowner property tax exemption,' would cut property taxes by 50% for owners of single-family homes up to $1 million in value over the next two years. While constituents across the state have called for tax breaks due to rising costs, the cuts could hurt local sheriff's departments and fire districts, which are largely funded by property taxes. 'None of us are against property tax cuts,' Laramie County Fire Authority Chief Jason Caughey told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. 'We would like to see tax cuts, but we would like to see them be prudent to make sure that there aren't hidden consequences. In this case, special districts are a hidden consequence.' If the bill passes without any amendments, entities that are funded by property taxes will almost certainly have to make budget cuts, likely by cutting staff and select programs, local officials said. Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak stated in a news release that if SF 69 passes without any backfill from state savings, the Laramie County Sheriff's Office may be required to slash its budget by a conservative estimate of $2 million. 'If property taxes are being cut, especially to the level of 50%,' Kozak said, 'that's such a drastic cut, it's definitely going to impact public safety across the state and with our fire districts.' If the bill passes, Kozak said LCSO would have to lay off 25 employees, including four School Resource Officers, three detention deputies, six registered nurses, two mental health/suicide counselors, a jail programs counselor, two professional staff positions and seven juvenile crisis center counselors, in order to account for the funds. LCSO would also likely have to cut the School Resource Program, Jail Mental Health Pod, Juvenile Crisis Center, Mental Health Treatment Court, 287g Immigration Program, Inmate Community Work Detail and Sheriff Body Camera Program, he said. Frustrated community members took to Facebook almost immediately following the sheriff's post, claiming that the department could cut other unnecessary budget line items instead of threatening to cut jobs and programs. Commenters demanded that Kozak and Caughey stop 'fear-mongering' and 'tighten their purse strings.' Kozak clarified that many of the commenters' suggestions, such as limiting vehicle or technology purchases, limiting uniform costs or increasing written tickets, weren't actually viable. Revenue from parking tickets, for example, goes to schools, as opposed to back into the LCSO budget. Other items aren't funded by property tax, and their total cost doesn't equal the $2 million that Kozak expects to have to cut. 'There's a ton of risk,' Kozak told the WTE. '... For example, when we cut medical and mental health resources in the jail, the risk is people will (die by) suicide or people will die from medical issues that normally would have been caught.' Limited medical staff isn't only dangerous for the health of inmates, it could leave LSCO open to lawsuits, which the state pays for. 'At the end of the day, it's going to come out of the state's budget, one way or another,' Kozak said. 'Either upfront, through preventative measures or afterward, as a result of lawsuits.' There are potentially high risks for public safety related to fire districts, which will feel the budget cuts immediately, being a special district. 'During a medical emergency, time matters,' Caughey wrote in a Laramie County Fire District 5 Facebook post. 'Any delay in response can be catastrophic. During a fire, time matters and seconds count. Cutting budgets leads to job losses, and cutting jobs causes delays in response. Delays in response impact life safety and property loss.' Unlike county or state governments, fire districts rarely have savings set aside for budget items as expensive as employee salaries or annual costs, Caughey said. The bill will likely not impact state government jobs, while deeply affecting cities, counties and special districts, Caughey said. Some fire districts in the state operate on less than $80,000 a year, with fuel costs and insurance taking a majority of those funds, Caughey said. After paying for fuel, insurance and facilities costs, they have hardly any funds left. 'By the time we're done, there's no extra money, and we're not sitting on large revenue pots,' Caughey said. 'We're being as prudent and safe as we can with the taxpayer dollars.' The budget cuts could effectively force Laramie County Fire Authority to function on the same budget they had in 2010 when they had only one full-time employee and no college resident students, he said. In 2010, LCFA response times were 15-25 minutes, and they only received 450 service calls. Now, service calls have increased to 1,500 annually, and the district has increased full-time personnel and college resident students to reflect community needs. Especially with fires, a quick response time is often the difference between a contained incident and a devastating larger fire. Caughey pointed to recent fires in California as an example of the drastic consequences of underfunding public safety. 'They have a shortage of firefighters,' Caughey said. 'Now, that's the extreme, but proportionally, it's the same impact that we're seeing with this proposed tax cut.' While SF 69 isn't the only bill in the Legislature that would impact property taxes and subsequently impact funding for first responders, it has passed, so far, without any backfill amendments to ensure funding for special districts, schools or other public services that rely on property taxes. One way the House of Representatives could ensure public safety is accounted for while still passing the cuts would be to adopt an amendment that would protect the budgets of LCSO or LCFA by backfilling the lost revenue. SF 69 passed the Senate with no backfill at this time. However, the bill has yet to be considered in the House.
