Fire District 23 has an ambulance, but doesn’t have the money to operate it.
District officials hope to solve that problem when rural residents living in the Robe Valley area are asked in the Nov. 8 election to renew a levy that pays for emergency medical services.
If approved, residents would pay 50 cents or less for every $1,000 of assessed property value. On a $150,000 home, that would be $75 a year.
District commissioner Tony Greene said the levy would pay for the district’s ambulance and medical supplies. The district has a second ambulance, but lacks the money to operate it, he said.
The one-station district serves about 700 people with a crew of 15 volunteers.
“We already work on a shoestring as it is,” Greene said.
Fire District 7
The district is asking voters to renew an 8-year-old levy that generates about $7 million annually for employee salaries and benefits.
The levy would charge district residents $1.50 for every $1,000 of assessed property. On a $200,000 home, that would be $300 a year.
The district, with seven stations and 130 employees, serves about 45,000 people in the Clearview, Bear Creek and Maltby areas.
“We hope the taxpayers appreciate what we’re doing, and we’re working hard to make them happy,” Fire Chief Rick Eastman said.
Fire District 10
In Snohomish County Fire District 10, a two-part district that flanks the north end of Bothell, taxpayers also will be asked to pay 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to King County for paramedic service.
The district has been charging 29 cents for every $1,000 of assessed value for paramedic service, said Hugh Moag, president of the Bothell firefighters union. Commissioners recently determined the service could be provided for less, and are reducing the levy request, he said. This levy also will cover service for six years.
Bothell EMS
In the Snohomish County portion of Bothell, property owners will be asked to continue paying 25 cents for every $1,000 of assessed value for paramedic service from King County.
Taxpayers have been paying the tax for 26 years, Moag said.
Recent court cases suggest that the tax, as worded in previous ballot measures, could be unconstitutional. So about $400,000 in taxes was returned to taxpayers.
The new ballot measure is worded to make the levy constitutionally compatible, but asks for the same tax in the same amount, Moag said. It would cover service for six years.
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