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SNOHOMISH — Voters in and around Snohomish in August will consider a proposal to restore the amount of a fire district EMS levy, which Fire District 4’s chief said will help cover increasing costs and hire additional firefighter-paramedics.
Earlier this month, Fire District 4’s board approved placing a measure on the August ballot to restore the EMS levy to 50 cents per $1,000 assessed property value. The current rate is 36 cents per $1,000. If the levy lid lift is approved, which needs a simple majority, then an owner of a $500,000 property would pay an additional $5.83 a month, or $70 per year in property taxes. This year, the owner of a $500,000 property will pay $180 for Snohomish Fire’s EMS tax and $750 for the district’s general levy tax.
EMS calls account for more than 80 percent of the calls the fire district receives. “As call volumes continue to go up, our community requires additional emergency personnel to maintain response levels and ensure the best possible outcomes when residents dial 911,” said Snohomish Fire Chief Don Waller in a press release.
When voters approved the permanent EMS levy in 2019, it stood at 50 cents and the rate has been eroding in subsequent years.
Since that time, inflation has increased the costs to pay for staff, emergency apparatus, and medical equipment. Over the past six years, medical supplies have gone from $61,000 to $130,000, insurance has increased from $68,000 to $130,000 and the cost of an ambulance has gone from more than $200,000 to $400,000, according to information from Snohomish County Fire District 4.
“Over the past six years, everything has pretty much doubled,” Waller said in an interview last week.
Snohomish County Fire District 4 covers around 60 square miles that includes Snohomish and surrounding areas that has a population of around 32,000 people. The fire district responds to about 4,300 calls per year, according to information from Fire District 4. Waller said that amount is about a 10% increase from six years ago.
The fire district is funded with two levies – a general fire levy that brings in $12.5 million a year and the permanent EMS levy that brings in around $3 million a year, according to information from the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office.
If the EMS levy lift is approved, the fire district will purchase an additional response unit as well as hire two additional firefighter/paramedics per shift. Waller said it takes between eight and nine people, or two people per day, to staff a new unit.
“We’re kind of the first call for everybody,” Waller said, adding the district is fully equipped for Advanced Life Support (ALS) calls. “We can take the emergency room out into the field.”
The fire district will provide information about the EMS levy proposal in its newsletter and on the district website. Officials will also be visiting the community in the coming months.
Voter’s pamphlet ‘Pro' and 'Con’ committees open
Fire District is accepting names to be part for the 'Pro' Committee who'd write a statement for the ballot measure and the ‘Con’ Committee who’d write a statement against the ballot measure for the voter’s pamphlet. Applications are due April 4.
To express interest, write to Chief@snohomishfire.org
