By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch Residents of Eatonville will know in a few weeks if a fresh infusion of tax revenue will come to the financial rescue of the town's police and fire departments. The general election includes a proposed increase of $342,876 in property taxes in the town to help cover the cost of public safety in 2015. The levy proposal has the backing of Mayor Mike Schaub and the Town Council, but voters will have the final say. Ballots were mailed to voters last Friday by the Pierce County auditor's elections department. Voting will end Nov. 4, the last day that ballots can be returned. The levy, which needs at least a 60 percent yes vote to pass, would be collected only for next year, which is when town officials say Eatonville will face a $270,000 shortfall in public safety funding caused by the expiration at the end of 2014 of a federal grant for the fire department. If it passes, the levy will be enough of a financial stopgap to allow officials a year to come up with a long-term method of funding police and services, according to Schaub. In an article published on the Opinion page of today's edition of The Dispatch, Schaub writes the levy "will be a requirement each year to continue to fund public safetyGÇ¥ and the "revenue gain will only partially solve the ongoing funding issue the town has faced since 2010. The town administration is looking at different alternatives for public safety, including new sources of revenue to help fund public safety.GÇ¥ The police and fire departments combined cost $1.6 million a year, at about $800,000 apiece. For its share, the fire department has depended partly on a $300,000 federal grant that runs out at the end of this year. The town has no way to replace that funding or afford both departments through standard tax revenue that's projected for the years ahead, according to officials. Steps taken to cut costs for the police and fire departments include decisions this year by the council in July and September, respectively, to replace the town's full-time police and fire chiefs with contracted chiefs from the Pierce County Sheriff Department and South Pierce Fire and Rescue. The fire department now has four full-time firefighters, while the police department has four officers. For more potential efficiencies and help with the budget, Schaub has suggested putting fire protection and emergency medical services under the control of South Pierce Fire. The contract with that agency to make its chief the day-to-day manager of Eatonville's fire department is seen as a first step toward a possible merger. Several citizens who attended the meeting in September when the council authorized putting the levy before voters expressed support for public safety in Eatonville but opposed the tax measure because of the strain they said it would put on property owners. Council members were sympathetic toward taxpayers and levy's financial impact on them. For example, a house valued at $200,000 would be assessed about $400 in additional taxes if the levy passes. Eatonville's limited finances have the town fighting "an uphill battleGÇ¥ to pay for important services such as police and fire protection, Schaub said. We will continue to be good stewards of the citizens' tax dollars and operate town operations effectively and efficiently,GÇ¥ he said.
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