The Fall City Fire District Board of Commissioners has announced plans to place a property tax measure on the November general election ballot, seeking voter approval of a multi-year levy lift to combat rising costs.
Extra funds would cover the increased cost of operations and equipment, allowing the fire department to sustain its current level of fire and emergency management services, the department says.
If approved, the lid lift would allow the fire district to collect more tax dollars from its regular levy, up to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value, beginning in 2024. Rates for the remaining two to six years of the lid lift would be adjusted based on market values.
The Fall City Fire District, formally Fire District 27, serves over 6,000 people in a 22-square-mile area in and around Fall City.
Fire District Commission Chair Dan Meredith said costs for service and equipment have gone up steadily in recent years, outpacing the amount of new taxes the fire district can legally collect under state law.
“It’s been difficult to keep up, so to speak,” he said.
State law limits the amount of additional tax dollars the district can collect to a 1% annual increase. A voter-approved lid lift is needed to allow the district to exceed that cap and keep up with rising costs, Meredith said.
District residents are currently paying a combined rate of roughly $1.09 across the fire district’s two levies. For roughly the last decade or so, the district has had both 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 costs, he said.
The current M&O levy expires at the end of 2024, and would not be collected next year if the levy lid lift is approved by voters.
Want to get involved?
The fire district is currently seeking residents interested in joining committees to write pro or con statements that will appear in the King County Voters Pamphlet.
To join either committee, submit a letter of interest to the fire district by 5 p.m. on July 10. Committee members must be registered to vote and live with-in district boundaries. Letters can be sent to king27@king27fire.com or PO Box 609, Fall City, WA, 98024. For more info, call 425-222-5841.
