MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Emergency medical services and fire protection could stay the same and property owner costs may rise as early as next year in Mountlake Terrace, if voters approve annexation this year.
City leaders are discussing the future of fire service as Mountlake Terrace’s 20-year contract with South County Fire ends in 2024. Mountlake Terrace only has a few options.
It could reestablish its own city fire department, but that is the most expensive choice and would take a long time, assistant city manager Stephon Clifton told the council at its meeting Jan. 3.
Mountlake Terrace could contract with another city. But Lynnwood and Mill Creek, plus unincorporated areas, already are part of South County Fire. Edmonds has a service contract with the district. Brier is considering annexation into the district. Other nearby cities are in King County, Clifton said.
The city’s final and most likely path forward is to ask voters to approve annexation into South County Fire. The election window is slim for the April vote, with other options in August and November. April 2024 was the latest date Clifton recommended for annexation.
“The risk in waiting until April 2024 to vote is that failure would result in the need for a new short-term contract with South County Fire,” he told the council.
Last week, the Mountlake Terrace City Council voted 6-0 to request annexation into the regional fire authority. South County Fire’s board considered steps to annex the city Tuesday.
If voters approve the annexation this April, fee and tax collection would begin in January 2024. Once annexation is approved, it must take effect within a year, South County Fire assistant chief Bob Eastman said.
The city estimates it will pay over $3.7 million for the fire service charge this year, Clifton told the council last week. That money comes from the city’s general fund, which includes the city’s EMS levy.
In an interview with The Herald, Eastman said the benefits are faster adjustments to emergency medical and fire service needs. The current contract specifies three people staff the fire station in Mountlake Terrace every day, but calls for service have increased every year of the agreement.
“We don’t have the ability to automatically increase staffing to meet demand,” Eastman said.
Property owners in Mountlake Terrace would pay more than they do now for fire service. If the city’s levy rate holds, it would generate additional revenue that isn’t accounted for in its budget, Clifton said. That money could be returned to property-owning taxpayers or bumped to other city services, depending on the council’s decision.
“People will be hard-pressed to increase their taxes as much as they’ll be asked to do and not see some give and take,” interim city manager Andrew Neiditz told the council.
Mountlake Terrace City Council member Erin Murray asked city managers to review whether delaying the decision could save residents money through a short-term contract extension.
“I also don’t want to burden them with extra costs at a challenging time that we could potentially save them a year by waiting,” Murray said.
South County Fire has EMS and fire levies, as well as a benefit charge based on size and whether a building is commercial or residential. They amount to an equivalent total levy of $1.22 per $1,000 of assessed value, Eastman told The Herald.
Ben Watanabe: 425-339-3037; bwatanabe@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @benwatanabe.
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