Fire District 2 wants to boost falling tax rate for one year
Published 3:00 pm Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Grays Harbor Fire District 2 is asking voters to lift the lid on the district’s levy for one year. The measure is on the Nov. 3 ballot.
District 2’Fire Chief Leonard Johnson said in a news release that the district’s regular fire levy has continued to decrease since the last voter-approved measure ended. The last measure approved in 2011 set the rate at a $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. Since then the rate has dropped to $1.27 per $1,000 of assessed value.
If approved by voters, the fire levy rate would return to $1.50 per $1,000. This is called a fire levy “lid lift.” It would last for one year and the levy rate would start to decrease again. The rate can never exceed the voter approved rate of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Funding from the fire levy supports fire district operations on a day-to-day basis and maintains emergency service levels. This includes funding such things as personnel, training, apparatus (fire engines and ambulances), equipment and firefighting and medical supplies. Funding for these items is essential to delivering services and maintaining fire insurance rating levels.
Levy rates fall as property values increase, limiting the district to roughly the same amount of revenue per year, plus a 1% increase. The 1% increase has not kept up with increasing call volumes or the cost of inflation which is around 3.1% for the area, John said. The fire levy provides most of the funding to provide emergency services for residents and businesses in Fire District 2, which includes Central Park, Brady, the Wynoochee Valley and unincorporated areas surrounding Montesano.
