Fall City voters will soon weigh in on a multiple-year levy lid lift, which aims to raise property taxes to support raising costs for the Fall City Fire Department.

Fire district commissioners placed the lid lift on the ballot earlier this year, saying the added revenue will be necessary to maintain current service levels, staffing and equipment costs. The Fall City Fire District, formerly known as Fire District 27, serves over 6,000 people in a 22-square-mile area around Fall City.

Fire District Commission Chair Dan Meredith told the Valley Record earlier this year that the costs of service and equipment have gone up steadily with inflation in recent years, outpacing what the district has collected through its two active levies.

“It’s been difficult to keep up, so to speak,” he said.

State law limits district tax hikes to a 1% annual cap without voter approval. The lid lift is needed for the district to exceed that cap and keep up with rising costs, Meredith said.

For roughly the last decade or so, the district has maintained a regular levy and a maintenance and operations (M&O) levy, Meredith said. The M&O levy was introduced after the regular levy failed to keep up with rising costs, he said.

District residents currently pay a total cost of roughly $1.09 per $1,000 of assessed property value between both levies.

If the lid lift were approved, the total rate would rise to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, beginning in 2024. Rates for the remaining six years of the lid lift would be adjusted based on market values.

Additionally, the current M&O levy, which expires at the end of 2024, would not be collected next year if the levy lid lift is approved.

“Our fire department has consistently demonstrated responsible management of the resources we have entrusted to them,” Chris Connor and Kevin Hauglie wrote in a statement in favor of the lid lift.

There was no statement written in opposition.

Residents should have already received their ballot in the mail. Ballots must be returned to a drop box or postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 7.