MILL CREEK — The Mill Creek City Council is not about to rush a decision to endorse a proposed EMS levy increase that would more than double how much residents currently pay.
Fire District 7 would like to raise the emergency medical services levy to 50 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation to hire eight additional staff at Station 76, 1020 152nd Place SE, Mill Creek. The fire district predicts the additional staff will cost an extra $1.1 million per year.
The owner of a $450,000 home is currently charged $81 per year. If the proposed EMS levy increase is approved, the homeowner would be charged $225, a $144 difference.
The current six-year levy expires this year. If approved, the council could renew the EMS levy for six years, 10 years or permanently.
Per fire service contract, future costs could increase by up to 6 percent in 2012 and 1 percent in each of the next three years and up to 6 percent in 2016.
Finance director Landy Manuel said if the levy isn’t renewed, the city would have to look to the city’s reserves or general fund to cover the $1.4 million gap.
“Without (a levy) will leave a huge hole in next year’s budget,” Manuel said.
If they endorse the proposed levy increase, the council has until May 25 and Aug. 10 to submit a measure for the Aug. 17 primary and Nov. 2 general election, respectively. Staff predicts it will cost the city $10,000 to $15,000 per election to put a measure on the ballot.
Earlier this month the council compared price tags to see how different staffing levels would pencil out with varying levy rate increases. They mulled scenarios where the levy rate is increased to 25, 30, 40 and 50 cents and modeled a four-man engine, three-man engine and two-man medic unit or a four-man engine and two-man medic unit plans.
Fire Chief Rick Eastman wants to assign four personnel on an engine and two on a medic unit. Currently, three personnel are assigned to cross-man one engine and one medic unit, which he previously said operates at 38 percent efficiency.
The council was united March 2 in their concerns for how to educate taxpayers about the type of service they will receive in return for their tax dollars.
They agreed citizens should fully understand what the levy increase proposes, the financial impacts and what their taxes are paying for before voting.
“It’s more than doubling what they’re paying,” Mayor Mike Todd said. “That’s a tough sell in a tough economy.”
Todd said most of the council is still trying to learn how fire stations operate and where the funding goes before feeling comfortable enough to make a decision.
“It’s kind of an education for us,” he said. “That education may take another meeting or two — it’s kind of new for us.”
Also at the March 2 council meeting, three council members volunteered to serve on the Police Department’s ad hoc committee.
Council members Bart Masterson, Mark Harmsworth and Mike Todd will serve on the committee. Councilwoman Kathy Nielsen will serve as an alternate.
The committee will be tasked with offering feedback on topics included in the police department’s strategic plan. The plan is essentially a 20-year road map that guides staff through population increases, matching staff to citizens and identifying when the department can afford to make changes.
Last month, the department advertised for three Mill Creek citizens to serve on the committee. Three citizens stepped forward.
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