Assistant fire chief for Snohomish County Fire District 7, Eric Andrews said medical emergencies represent more than 77 percent of the calls the district responds to annually.
He also said funding for the district’s emergency medical services (EMS) comes from a property tax levy that raised about $1.7 million last year. A six-year levy, that issue is set to expire, a situation, which, in brief, explains why the fire district is floating a replacement of the expiring levy.
Andrews noted that unlike King County, which operates one unified EMS for that entire county, Snohomish County is broken up into numerous districts. Fire District 7 serves an area north and east of the northern end of the city of Bothell. District 7 serves areas inside Bothell’s potential annexation area, including areas between Bothell and Mill Creek, as well as Mill Creek itself.
According to Andrews, District 7 officials thought long and hard prior to asking Aug. 17 primary election voters to approve some major changes to the district’s EMS funding. Probably most notably, Andrews said that for the first time, District 7 is asking for the maximum amount of funding available to it, 50 cents per every $1,000 of property valuation.
Currently, for EMS, the district collects 25 cents per $1,000 in property valuation.
Andrews maintains District 7 is one of the few fire services in the state that doesn’t already collect the maximum amount. He said there were several factors that led officials to ask for the increase, prime among them being drops in local property values.
According to Andrews, district collections fell $1.3 million last year. Predictions call for another drop of $1.4 million this year.
“Just to maintain our service levels, we had to make up some dollars,” Andrews said.
The district’s Web site further talks about rising operational costs and decreases in insurance reimbursements as factoring into the decision to ask for increased collections.
Collection rates are not hard to figure. According to Andrews, for a home valued at $400,000, the average tax bill for the EMS levy would be about $200 a year, an increase of $100 a year.
“But even with 50 cents, we are not going to make up all we have lost,” Andrews added.
There is one other major difference between the current levy and previous District 7 levies. In the past, the EMS levy needed to be renewed by voters every six years. State rules now allow for districts to float permanent levies.
Andrews said District 7 decided to try for a permanent issue for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, he added, a permanent levy means there is a far less chance of losing service due to loss of revenues. Andrews also said the district can save the substantial dollars it takes to mount a levy every six years.
Andrews said it’s difficult to say how much District 7 actually spends on EMS as the same personnel using the same equipment often respond to fire and medical emergencies. But he also noted the district’s fire service collects $1.50 per $1,000 in property valuation. Given the high percentage of EMS runs, officials are convinced the fire levy already helps support EMS operations.
What happens if the levy fails? It’s a question Andrews doesn’t enjoy answering.
“You don’t want to look like you’re threatening voters,” he said.
But he also stated if the levy doesn’t pass, the district would be looking at what were termed severe service cuts. Andrews talked about the possibility of intermittent and, eventually, permanent station closures.
“You don’t want to talk about closing stations… But you also have to look at what the realities are,” Andrews said.
District 7 and District 1 have been locked in negotiations over a possible merger for sometime. Andrews said while nothing is signed, such a merger looks more likely to happen than not.
“The level of talks is very positive,” he said.
Andrews said District 1 residents already pay the 50-cent rate for EMS service, meaning voter approval of an equal rate in District 7 would put the districts on an even keel.
