Regarding the Nov. 13 article “Paramedic response could slow”:

I read with much interest the comments of Fire District 4 Chief Mark Collins, who claims paramedic services will need to be eliminated because voters failed to pass tax levies.

Would someone please explain to me where the money from increased property tax assessments is going? Our assessment increased 7 percent last year, and will increase 23 percent this year. We paid over $500 for Fire District 4 last year, so I anticipate paying well over $600 in 2007, whether I require services or not.

When you multiply this increase by the number of current Snohomish residents, plus the additional revenue stream from the many new residents, it appears to me like they should be flush with money to continue the current level of service.

The argument that the rapid increase in residents requires substantially more service doesn’t appear to add up. Using Collins’ figures from the article, they averaged less than one paramedic response per day last year, while this year the average call rate is almost 10 percent less.

Perhaps they should look at the way they operate. This past Saturday, a contractor was injured in our neighborhood, and three ambulances showed up. For one person!

The time has come for the fire district to realize that Snohomish County voters are a little brighter than their counterparts to the south, who just seem to agree to anything their mayor throws their way.

Jeff Payne

Snohomish