Fire levies go to voters

Unincorporated southwest Snohomish County south of Everett

Voters in District 1 will vote Sept. 14 on whether to increase the fire protection levy rate to $1.50 from $1.37 per $1,000 assessed property valuation.

The new rate would be $300 a year for the owner of a $200,000 home.

The rate was $1.50 in 2002, but it dropped last year because of property tax increase limits imposed by Initiative 747, Fire Chief Ed Widdis said. As housing values have risen, the levy has dropped.

The fire district isn’t able to keep up with rising wage, equipment and other costs with the $1.37 rate, Widdis said.

Before I-747, the district’s budget rose an average of 41/2 percent annually. It only rose 1 percent in 2003.

“This levy will make up for the difference last year,” Widdis said.

Snohomish County Fire District 3

The city of Monroe and its surrounding area

The district is asking for a tax levy increase on Sept. 14 of 21 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, to $1.35 from $1.14. The new rate would be $270 a year for the owner of a $200,000 home.

City residents will be asked to pay an additional 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation on Sept. 14, to $2.26 from $2.14 per $1,000 dollars valuation. The increase would be used to match the district’s increase, said Carol Grey, the city’s finance director.

The district needs the levy increase to recover some training programs it lost due to budget shortfalls in recent years, and to hire more firefighters to meet growing demand for fire services.

“It’s becoming extremely common for us to have multiple calls at the same time,” said District 3 Deputy Fire Chief Steve Guptill.

To succeed, both levies would have to pass, he said.

Snohomish County Fire District 4

The city of Snohomish and its surrounding area

The district is asking voters to approve a tax levy of 28 cents per $1,000 valuation for ambulance and paramedic services on Sept. 14, up from 22 cents per $1,000 valuation Fire Chief Robert Merritt said.

The proposed rate would cost the owner of a $200,000 home $56 annually.

If approved, the rate would be permanent and the district would use the money to hire its own paramedics and pay for medical equipment, Merritt said.

The district now has no paramedics, he said. Hiring four would cost $300,000 to $350,000.

The district currently uses its fire-protection budget to pay for contracting paramedics from three adjacent fire districts, but that has become increasingly expensive, Merritt said.

Snohomish County Fire District 7

The city of Mill Creek and its surrounding area

The district is asking voters to maintain the current tax levy rate for fire protection for 2005, Fire Chief Rick Eastman said.

The proposed rate is $1.50 per $1,000 valuation.

If approved, the levy would give the district more money in 2005 than in 2004 because new development has increased property values in the area, Eastman said.

The district needs more money to keep up with rising personnel expenses, he said.

Snohomish County Fire District 10

The city of Bothell and its surrounding area

Voters in Snohomish County Fire District 10 will be asked to increase the district’s levy rate by 32 cents per $1,000 of assessed value on Sept. 14.

If approved, the levy would rise from $1.18 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $1.50, where it stood before passage of Initiative 747, said Mark Peffer, vice president of Bothell Professional Firefighters Association 2099.

The new rate would be $300 a year for the owner of a $200,000 home.

Money from the levy would go toward the district’s contract with Bothell, and toward maintaining its station and purchasing equipment, Peffer said

The district, about three-fourths of which is in the city of Bothell, will pay the city $700,000 this year for firefighters who staff the district’s station, he said.

The district could use part of the money to build a new fire station if Bothell agrees to pitch in, Peffer said. If the levy passes and the city does not pitch in, the district would not collect the full amount authorized, he said.

Snohomish County Fire District 17

The city of Granite Falls and surrounding area

The levy proposal in and around Granite Falls is to restore the tax rate to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

For a $200,000 house, the cost would be $57 a year.

“We ran this levy initially in 1987,” said Fire Chief Rick Hjelle. “We haven’t run (a new one) since.”

The district’s alarm volume increased 26 percent through June 30 compared with the same time last year, he said.

“For a little fire department, that number is 721 alarms in the first six months,” Hjelle said. “That’s busy for a little department.”

Granite Falls has nine full-time firefighters.

The new levy would help the department boost its minimum staffing during peak hours and help upgrade its equipment. Two of its fire vehicles are 1979 and 1981 models.

“We can’t Band-Aid those things together forever,” he said.

Snohomish County Fire District 26

Gold Bar and its surrounding area

The district is putting two propositions on the September ballot, Fire Chief Eric Andrews said.

Voters will decide whether to make permanent the current tax levy rate for emergency medical services. Residents now pay 50 cents per $1,000 valuation in property tax.

If voters reject the measure, they will receive very limited emergency medical services, Andrews said.

The district also will ask voters to preserve the current tax levy rate for fire protection for 2005. They now pay $1.50 per $1,000 valuation.

On both measures, the district isn’t asking for increased levy rates, Andrews said. “Both measures would allow us to maintain the services we have today,” he said.

Snohomish County Fire District 28

The town of Index and its surrounding area

The district will let voters decide whether to keep the same tax levy rate for emergency medical services, said Ernie Walters, the district’s only career firefighter.

Residents now pay 25 cents per $1,000 valuation in property tax. If approved, the rate would remain through 2010.

The district needs the increase to pay for training programs, medical supplies and ambulance maintenance, Walters said.

Island County Fire District 5

The city of Coupeville and its surrounding area

The district is asking for an increase of 10 cents, to $1.29 from $1.19 per $1,000 assessed valuation.

If approved, the Coupeville Fire Department would generate $87,000 in additional revenue, Fire Chief Joe Biller said.

“We’re at a crossroads where expenses are outrunning revenue,” he said.

In the past five years, calls have increased 64 percent, and adding to the squeeze, the department’s volunteers have been cut almost in half, he said.

“Fifteen years ago, we had 70 volunteers,” Biller said. “Now we have 37.”

He urged voters to fill out the nonpartisan part of their ballot even if they prefer not to declare their political party.

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