Editorial: Edmonds voters, study up on fire district vote

By The Herald Editorial Board

Voters in Edmonds are being asked to chart the future of fire, rescue and emergency services in their city, a decision that will also affect a range of services provided for a city of nearly 43,000 residents.

On ballots sent out last week — and due by mail or dropbox by 8 p.m. April 22 — the city’s voters are being asked if Edmonds should be annexed into the South County Fire & Rescue Regional Fire Authority, a region-wide fire district that serves about 300,000 residents in Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace, Brier and other communities. The authority also provides full service to Edmonds — which has been without its own fire department since 2010 — through a separate contract with the City of Edmonds. Edmonds is the only city served by the district through a separate contract.

Under terms of the 20-year agreement that was scheduled to expire in 2030, both the city and fire authority had the ability to pull out of the contract with advance notice; South County Fire notified the city in December 2023 that it intended to end the contract as of this December, giving the city three options:

Joining the other cities and communities in the district, with Edmonds property owners paying a separate tax levy to the district;

Re-establishing its own fire department, taking back two fire stations that were handed over to the authority in 2010, while purchasing its own fire and other emergency vehicles and equipment; or

Contracting with the Shoreline Fire Department, south of the city, for fire and EMS.

Last year, the Edmonds City Council, following meetings and hearings — and a report that found annexation offered the least-costly option to taxpayers — voted unanimously to seek annexation with South County Fire, then voted 6-1 in December to place the issue before voters this month.

The report estimated that joining South County Fire would result in an annual cost of $17.8 million for taxpayers, compared to $24.9 million for contracting with Shoreline Fire Department, and $19.2 million to re-establish the city’s own department. (A report from the Edmonds city attorney in December estimated the cost of annexation at $21 million.)

Any decision made by voters will result in changes, costs and consequences, requiring that voters make a careful consideration of taxes, level of service and representation.

Taxes: Under the current contract, Edmonds pays South County Fire $12.5 million annually, with the funding coming out of the city’s share of property tax revenue, amounting to about 76 cents per $1,000 of assessed value out of the city’s overall $1.26 millage rate. A home valued at $821,000 pays annual city taxes of about $1,034, total, with about $623 of that for fire and emergency medical services.

If annexation is approved, Edmonds taxpayers, in addition to their city property levy, would join other regional taxpayers in paying the same rate, currently $1.29 per $1,000 of assessed value for fire and EMS response. At that rate, the separate fire authority tax would levy an annual bill — for the same $821,000 property — of $1,059.

The annexation’s creation of an additional tax for Edmonds taxpayers is a major concern for opponents of the annexation, said Dave Teitzel, a former Edmonds City Council member.

Services: South County Fire determined to end its contract with Edmonds, said Chief Bob Eastman, because the city’s contract no longer was sufficient to meet the costs or service calls within the city. As well, said Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen, there’s a lack of parity between Edmonds’ portion of what it pays for fire and EMS and what other cities and communities in the regional authority’s are paying; in essence residents outside of Edmonds are subsidizing service for Edmonds residents.

Opponents of annexation have questioned that contention, however, noting the higher median assessed value of homes in Edmonds providing more revenue, as compared with homes in Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace, against similar costs — regardless of home value — for fighting fires and providing medical response.

Removing the burden of paying for fire and EMS won’t bring a reduction in the city’s property tax levy, but it will help the city continue to fund existing services, Rosen and others said.

While the city would no longer pay for fire and EMS services, it plans to continue collecting its current millage rate, using what it previously paid South County Fire to help avoid adding further cuts to those already made to other city services, in order to plug a $13 million structural budget deficit.

Even figuring in that revenue after annexation, the city — in the budget it adopted in December — cut more than 40 positions (most of those through leaving positions unfilled) and will require 12 days of furlough for remaining city employees this year, and still needs to find $3.5 million in additional cuts over the next two years.

Failure of the annexation and a new contract with South County Fire could add an estimated $8.9 million in unbudgeted costs, Rosen said.

Representation: South County Fire is governed by a board of seven elected commissioners — from five districts and two at-large seats — with two appointed city liaisons for Brier and Mountlake Terrace. Edmonds, initially, would have an appointed liaison serving on the board, but the position, as is the case for Brier and Mountlake Terrace, would be non-voting.

If annexation is approved, the fire authority’s district boundaries would be redrawn, allowing an Edmonds resident to run for a district that includes Edmonds or for one of the two at-large seats.

Decision: Opponents of annexation have said that more time should be allowed to consider options for fire and emergency medical services and that rejecting the annexation now would allow for more information to be gathered and more time for a decision on how best to move forward.

Backers of annexation counter that further delay on a decision won’t change the economics for any of the options; will delay work needed to add capacity and improve response time; and will saddle the city with at least an additional year of costs that it can use to fund other city services.

Because this is a decision that Edmonds voters will have to live with — after considering the arguments of both sides carefully — that decision is best left to them.

Clarifications: The above editorial has been clarified on two points, noting a later report by the city attorney regarding an estimated cost for annexation and in cuts to hiring for city positions.