Edmonds residents urge city to reconsider fire annexation

EDMONDS — Edmonds residents urged the City Council on Tuesday to reconsider annexing into South County Fire, citing a rushed timeline and rising property taxes.

The council held a special meeting Tuesday to review a pre-annexation agreement and engage in a Q&A with South County Fire representatives. At the council’s regular meeting immediately after, about 10 residents participated in a public hearing, but the council did not allot time to respond to their concerns.

“This is going to be a huge, expensive change, a forever change that will be hard to get out of,” Edmonds resident Julie Johnson told the council. “The council seems to be in great hurry to annex with (the regional fire authority) without a second option.”

Last year, South County Fire notified Edmonds officials it would terminate its contract at the end of 2025 due to the growing financial demand of servicing the city. A report from city-hired consulting group Fitch & Associates determined annexation as the city’s cheapest option to secure fire services in 2026. Brier, Lynnwood, Mill Creek and Mountlake Terrace have already annexed into South County Fire.

In June, the council voted to officially request annexation into the regional fire authority. Annexation would raise taxes by an estimated $80 more per month for a home assessed at $1 million.

Currently, residents pay a total of $6.5 million to the city for fire services. If annexed, taxpayers would pay the fire authority directly, but the City Council has stated it intends to keep charging residents the $6.5 million and place that money in its general fund, a piece in bridging its $13 million deficit.

If the council moves forward with annexation, a measure would go on voters’ special election ballot in April — a decision some residents say the city isn’t ready for.

“An Edmonds parcel has a higher assessed value than a Lynnwood or a Mountlake Terrace parcel,” Theresa Hollis told the council. “So if I approve annexation, Edmonds property owners will be subsidizing those two cities for infinity.”

If voters reject annexation, the city and fire authority will have the option to enter into a temporary contract in 2026. Both parties will have until July 1 to decide if they still want to enter the contract. It is unclear what would happen if one or both parties decide against it. If the temporary agreement begins, the council would have time to explore other options, such as restarting its own fire department.

The exact cost of the temporary contract is unknown, said City Attorney Jeffrey Taraday, because the regional fire authority’s 2025 levy rate and Edmonds’ assessed property value for 2026 are not yet determined.

“Anyone who who looks at this and tells you that they know what your contract payment is going to be in 2026 is not telling the truth, because it’s an unknowable number,” Taraday said.

In the event of annexation, the transfer of two of Edmonds’ three fire stations to South County Fire is another point of contention. If the city wants to own the stations in the future, it would have to pay for improvements, even if South County makes those improvements unilaterally. Taraday and South County Fire Chief Bob Eastman said other annexed cities also transferred their stations at no cost.

Annexation would allow South County Fire to make improvements on Station 20 on 88th Avenue W — which will likely need to be rebuilt in the near future — without asking voters to approve a bond, Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen said.

Council member Neil Tibbott said some other benefits of annexation include access to South County Fire’s reserve fund and emergency preparedness services. Edmonds would also get one nonvoting representative on the South County Fire Board of Commissioners.

Eastman said the authority is looking into raising its benefit charge — which changes the amount residents owe based on the size and use of their building — and decreasing its levy. This change would occur after the annexation vote.

The council will continue to deliberate at next week’s meeting and will likely vote on whether to place annexation on the ballot Dec. 17.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.