Voters in the city of Mill Creek and most areas of unincorporated Snohomish County to the south and east are being asked to renew a six-year tax levy that goes to fund emergency medical services on Nov. 2.
Snohomish County Fire District 7 and the city of Mill Creek are asking voters to renew a tax rate of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value ($75 per year for the owner of a home valued at $300,000) to fund emergency medical services.
Emergency medical calls are by far the top function of firefighters in Mill Creek and District 7, according to district figures. In the period from June 1 to Aug. 23, firefighters responded to 1,123 calls. Of those calls, 821 of them were emergency medical calls (73 percent). That percentage jumped in September, with 83 percent of all calls for Fire District 7 being medical aid calls.
Despite those figures, both the city of Mill Creek and Fire District 7 are seeking to keep the levy rate the same.
District 7 chief Rick Eastman says the district is not seeking to raise the levy because it has sought other ways to bring in revenues aside from taxes. One of those ideas is a fee for ambulance services that is most often billed to a patient’s insurance. The fee is collected throughout the region the district serves, including Mill Creek, although the city doesn’t receive any of that revenue.
“We’ve showed we can maintain the paramedic program with the taxes we have,” Eastman said.
Fire District 7’s Board of Commissioners easily approved the unchanged rate May 13, but in the city of Mill Creek, debate on the emergency services levy was a bit more contentious.
That’s because the city had proposed increasing the levy rate to 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to cover more of the city’s costs for emergency medical services.
Mill Creek contracts with District 7 to provide fire and medical service in the city limits at an annual rate of $1.04 million. The current rate brings in approximately $289,383, according to city documents. City manager Bob Stowe said earlier this year that the medical levy covers 28 percent of the costs of such services. The rest of the contract is funded out of the city’s general fund.
The City Council struck down an increase, opting to keep the rate the same. Two factors led to the Council’s decision: The fact District 7 wasn’t asking for an increase, and the fact the city put library annexation on the Sept. 14 primary election ballot, a move that resulted in voters approving the move that increases property taxes to pay for library services.
Some Council members said they were concerned that charging a higher rate would lead to an impression of gouging, which others feared a higher rate would jeopardize the levy’s possible passage.
Fire District 7 covers 50 square miles and serves approximately 50,000 residents in Mill Creek and unincorporated Snohomish County. It has seven fire stations, including the Mill Creek station.
The emergency medical services levy is the second tax levy the district has sought renewal of this year. Voters on Sept. 14 easily approved renewing the district’s operations levy. That measure did not appear on ballots in the city of Mill Creek.
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