Cameron Probert
Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.)
(TNS)
Aug. 10—Officials with a Franklin County fire district are now looking to regroup after being handed a second levy loss in less than a year.
Plans to make improvements to a fire station and hire more firefighters are on hold now that Franklin County Fire District 3’s attempt to adjust its levy is failing.
As of Friday morning, the levy lid lift measure had received 1,013 votes, or 57%, opposing it, and 758 votes, or 43%, in favor.
The district was looking to increase the amount it could collect by raising its levy rate to $1.27 per $1,000 of assessed value, an increase of 40 cents per $1,000.
Fire District 3 Chief Mike Harris told the Tri-City Herald he’s not sure what drove the opposition to a levy needed to help respond to the growing number of calls for firefighting and medical services.
He was optimistic going into Tuesday’s primary. “Everybody I talked to was in support and voted, ‘Yes,'” he said.
He hopes to understand what happened better after the election is certified and he has a chance to look at what areas supported or opposed the measure.
The 205-square-mile fire district includes county areas inside Pasco city limits, as well as areas directly north and east of the city.
It provides fire and ambulance services to about 8,500 residents and several thousand more people who travel to the area for work. The district includes the industrial plants north of the city, such as the Lamb Weston potato processing plant.
Nearly all the district’s $2 million in revenue comes from property tax collections, Harris said. Over time, the collection rate has fallen from $1.27 per $1,000 of assessed value to 88 cents per $1,000.
At the same time, the number of calls has increased.
They had hoped to pay for one new full-time firefighter and two seasonal firefighters with the funds as well as save for improvements at the Selph Landing Road fire station.
Without the additional funding, they’ll have to slow down the plans.
The full impact may not be felt until they begin to put together their budget in October, Harris said. That’s when the district will get its estimate on how much money they are expected to receive.
Previous attempt
It’s not clear if the district will decide to run the levy again in the near future, Harris said. The three-member elected board of fire commissioners will make that decision.
This was the second unsuccessful levy in less than a year. The fire district asked for a 30 cent per $1,000 of assessed value increase in November 2023.
The measure, which aimed to make the same improvements, performed about the same with 56% of voters rejecting it and 44% supporting.
Both elections saw less than a third of voters send in a ballot.
Franklin County Fire District 3 had one of three fire levy lid lifts on the ballot Tuesday night.
— Benton County Fire District 2’s levy lid lift was passing with 738 votes, or 60%, in favor and 490 votes, or 40%, opposed. The measure moves its levy rate back to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. The increase will add 3 cents per $1,000 to property tax bills.
— Walla Walla Fire District 5’s measure was failing with 158 votes, or 56%, voting against it and 124, or 44%, voting for it. It was asking to increase the rate from $1.22 to $1.38 per $1,000 of assessed value.
___
(c)2024 Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.)
Visit Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.) at www.tri-cityherald.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
