Fire District 5 levy back up

Snohomish County Fire District 5 is asking voters to renew a levy that impacts nearly a third of the agency’s budget.

If approved during the primary election on Aug. 7, Proposition 1 would allow the fire district to keep taking in revenue from property taxes, according to a news release developed by Fire Chief Merlin Halverson for the YesFire5Levy committee of residents that supports the levy. Homeowners will pay $54 less on average than they are now each year under the replacement.

“This levy will not raise taxes, it is a renewal of an existing levy at a lower rate,” according to the release.

The fire district is headed by Halverson, who has been with the agency for two decades, and is assisted by a volunteer deputy chief. The agency’s sole fire station, Fire Station 51, is located on Alder Avenue in downtown Sultan.

Five full-time firefighters and between two and three dozen part-time volunteers respond to calls within a 72-mile radius, according to the fire district. The land covered is mostly rural, in and around Startup and Sultan, and includes about 10,000 people.

Halverson said the population within the fire district is expected to grow in the coming years due to new construction. He predicts there will also likely be a steady annual increase in call volumes.

The fire district reports personnel respond to an average 1,100 calls annually. Last year crews were dispatched to 1,255 emergencies, according to YesFire5Levy, which Havlerson considers “a pretty good bump.”

He said while more people are moving into the area, at the same time more visitors are recreating in the Sky Valley. More people are on the rivers, and hiking and horse riding on local trails.

“These all add to our call volume,” Halverson said.

Approving the levy won’t expand services, he said, but it will ensure the current level is maintained.

The four-year measure was first approved in 2010, and again in 2014.

The amount a fire district will receive in property tax through the levy depends on the assessed value of Snohomish County properties. YesFire5Levy reports the “housing bubble crises that began in 2008 is mostly a bad memory,” and one that disproportionately affected rural jurisdictions like the fire district.

Assessed values went down by about 40 percent around that time, according to the release. For that reason the levy is needed so the agency can maintain the same amount of services, Halverson said.

“We have to because our assessed value hasn’t returned to where it was in 2009,” he said.

Because of new construction, assessed values have been going up overall, so the levy rate the fire district is requesting will decrease from its current rates, Halverson said. The tax burden will be spread out among more homeowners, so individuals will be asked to pay less than in years past, he said.

If approved, the fire district will receive $175,000 less per year than what was generated through the current levy, according to YesFire5Levy. Though it’s an estimate, the fire district can expect to take in about $450,000 through the levy annually from 2019-2022, Halverson said.

About 80 percent of the budget will go to “compensate and equip firefighters.” The remainder will fund training, equipment maintenance and reserves, medical supplies and other support services.

“The fire service is a vital component of the public safety net,” according to the release. “...The fire service improves and occasionally extends the lives of citizens, protects property, and strengthens communities. Fire and EMS services are a necessary function of government that need and deserve public support.”

Halverson said he hopes that the public will focus on the service that is being provided and not the costs. He said the agency works to make sure it serves the community as inexpensively as possible.

It is more than likely the rates will go down slightly each year over the next four years as the new homes are put in, Halverson said. He he can’t predict by how much, but he doesn’t expect rates to increase.