The recent resolution passed by the Fire District 1 Board of Commissioners is full of inaccuracies. Where it avoids outright falsehoods, it suggests that Bothell is just making stuff up. The city has repeatedly refuted these issues with independently verifiable facts. For example:
Residents of the proposed annexation area requested that Bothell allow us to vote on annexation again. From the beginning, the effort has been led by residents of our area.
Bothell has committed to staff the Hilltop Fire Station with paramedics 24/7/365 and to keep the station open for at least five years. (FD1 previously announced it planned to close the station.)
Average overall taxes will be reduced for all homeowners in the proposed annexation area.
Bothell is financially more able to provide continued, high-quality services than Snohomish County or FD1.
The revenue from the proposed annexation area will remain in Bothell — which after annexation would have a population of about 55,000 — rather than being distributed throughout a county of over 700,000.
Bothell has committed to far more police officers patrolling the proposed annexation area than the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office is able to deploy.
Most of the homeowners who voted no in the last election tell me they did so because of just the sort of misinformation in the Fire District’s resolution.
Many homeowners in the potential annexation area are disturbed that Fire District 1 has misled citizens. When voters aren’t able to make informed decisions based on the facts, democracy breaks down.
Tom Turner
Lynnwood
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