By next week, voters in Fire District 23 near Mount Rainier will be deciding the outcome of the district's request for funding via property taxes for emergency medical services. The ballot for the Aug. 4 primary election includes a levy seeking 50 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation of property within the district's coverage area of 67 square miles. If approved by voters, the levy will be in effect for six years. For the all-mail election, the Pierce County auditor's elections department will mail ballots to voters this Friday. The final day of voting will be Aug. 4, the date of the election. District 23's last voter-approved levy specifically for emergency medical services (EMS) expired in 2014. Tax collections from the new levy, which the district commissioners voted in April to put before voters, would pay for personnel, training, equipment and supplies, and vehicles to deal with medical emergencies. The proposal is in addition to the district's regular levy that covers maintenance and operational costs. Joseph Koehler and Matt Medford, members of a pro-levy committee that wrote a formal statement in support of the levy, said voters "have a very important decision to make regarding the futureGÇ¥ of EMS in the district. The district has about 2,500 residents, including the communities of Ashford, Elbe and Alder, and stretches to the border of Mount Rainier National Park. Its 24-hour coverage is provided through four fire stations, 18 fire trucks and other vehicles, 23 volunteer firefighters and three paid staff members. The latter include fire chief Garry Olson. About 260 calls a year are answered, most of them medical-related, according to district officials.
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