For the first time in 22 years, the Ridgway Fire Protection District will ask voters to approve a tax increase allowing it to hire more paid staff and replace old equipment — by more than doubling the mill levy currently providing funding.

The proposal, which will be on the ballot Nov. 6, is for a 4-mill tax increase. This would charge property owners $4 per $1,000 of assessed value. For a home valued at $750,000, that would be $17 per month or...