SULTAN — Snohomish County Fire District 5 in Sultan is asking voters to approve a maintenance and operations levy on the Aug. 5 ballot.
The proposed levy would draw $625,000 a year for four years to support the fire district.
If the levy passes, the fire district would collect 99 cents per thousand dollars of property value.
For example, the owner of a $200,000 house would pay $198 a year.
That would be about $36 more than under the current levy, which expires this year.
Sultan’s firefighters get about 1,000 emergency calls a year, mostly for medical problems.
Speedy medical care can save a life after a major incident, such as a heart attack, Fire Chief Merlin Halverson said.
“Our buildings aren’t wonderful. Our apparatus are relatively old, but it’s the people, they’re the ones who provide the service,” he said.
“We have excellent people here.”
Without the levy, it would be difficult to provide the same level of around-the-clock service, the chief said.
Fire District 5 serves 10,000 people in the areas of Sultan and Startup.
The district has a full-time chief and seven full-time firefighters, in addition to about 40 volunteers and part-time folks.
The 2014 budget is $1.94 million.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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