Property owners of King County Fire Protection District 10 will soon receive notice of their fire benefit charges. The charge is expected to reduce property taxes on parcels.

“The regular assessed value portion of their property tax bill for fire suppression and related services has been reduced by one third and is being replaced by the fire benefit charge.” Fire District 10 Commissioner Chairman Rick Gaines said, in a reminder to parcel owners.

The fire benefit charge notices include a letter of explanation and the actual per parcel FBC information.

Included in the per parcel information is the fire benefit charge formula, the square footage on record, the use category, and the total charge that will be included in the owners’ 2015 property tax bills.

The notice is not a bill and parcel owners are not required to do anything with it, unless they believe there is an error. The notice is an opportunity for the parcel owner to review the information used to calculate the charge, which appears on tax bills in the Special category, before it is applied to their 2015 property tax.

Property owners can appeal the charge, if they feel it is in error, said Gaines. Appeal instructions will be mailed with the notices.

Appeal forms are available at the Eastside Fire & Rescue Fire District 10 headquarters, 175 Newport Way N.W., Issaquah, and online at www.firedistrict10.org.

Return completed forms by mail or fax, by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Parcel owners do not need to be present at the appeal hearing for their appeals to be considered.

The fire benefit charge was approved by voters in 2004 and reauthorized in 2009.  State law requires the charge to be reauthorized by voters every six years.