My name is Trevor Mulligan, and I am running for the Hidden Valley Fire District board in the upcoming November general election.  Allow me to tell you a little about myself.  My wife Charlotte and I have lived in our fire district for about 10 years.  We have one son, Nathan, who enjoys riding bikes, building RC cars and currently attends Canyon View Elementary.  I have also been a small business owner for over 10 years with a degree in accounting. I believe this will provide a benefit to our fire district if I am elected however, what I truly believe to be the most vital contribution I can bring to this position is that I currently work for Rural Metro Fire Department and have been a firefighter for over 20 years.  Even though I will be retiring from the fire department soon I am extremely passionate about the emergency medical and fire services provided to you and your family.  I have a career’s worth of first-hand knowledge and experience and want to be your advocate and subject matter expert for our community.

When I moved into our neighborhood, I had no idea I was in a fire district or paid a fee for it.  It took looking at my property tax bill to find out.  Identifying who was on our district board and when the meetings were held proved to be a mystery as well.  Arizona law requires our meetings be held at a minimum every two months however, at one point the current district chairman, did not hold a meeting for over a year.  Our contract requires a fee be paid to Rural Metro in return for services. In additional to emergency services, reporting requirements and benchmarks like response times are part of that contract.  Our fire district has upheld our end through timely payments but Rural Metro is out of compliance in many areas of the contract and the current chairman has not only allowed this to happen, but he also finds these practices to be acceptable.  It is time for a change in board members.  I love living in the Hidden Valley Fire District, but I am extremely frustrated with the hidden details of our Fire District.  This is why I am running on a platform of getting the “Hidden” out of the Hidden Valley Fire District. 

If you have wondered, as I have, why your property taxes have increased over the recent years, you can start by looking at the fire district contract our current board signed with Rural Metro.  Our fire district is funded from our property taxes and the district then pays a negotiated fee to Rural Metro.  The contract allows for built in increases to that fee.  At the end of our 5-year contract, the fee paid will have increased by almost 50 percent since inception. I cannot accept that our fee to Rural Metro and property taxes continue to increase while the services provided by Rural Metro decrease, and neither should you.  I fully understand the costs associated with emergency service, but I don’t like being taken advantage of.  The fire station that serves our neighborhood is located just 3 miles away at 4300 N Kolb Rd.  There you will find a residential home built in the 1970s with a fire truck that is over 20 years old.  A water tender that is not staffed roughly 70 percent of the time, if not more, and an ambulance that is rarely staffed with a paramedic, if it is even staffed at all.  This decrease in service continues, even though our fees have increased and our payments to Rural Metro have been on time.  I want to ensure that we have a quality response that meets industry standards.  Rural Metro used to be a local company but over the last 15 years it has been bought and sold many times to various for-profit corporations.  Currently a venture capital fund from New York owns Rural Metro. Decisions on how the fire department is ran are made in the Colorado and Texas offices and Rural Metro is in the final stages of being sold off again. 

Our tax money is not being reinvested into our neighborhood and as a fire district we have the authority and opportunity to change that.  If elected, I will inform the Hidden Valley community about our fire district and what services you are paying for verses what you are actually getting.  My promise to you is transparency and facts.  With your vote, there will be no more “Hidden” details about our fire district.