Voters OK fire levies

Voters approved the lifting of levy lids in two Spokane County fire districts last week.

Fire Protection District 8’s proposal was OK’d by 66 percent of the voters.

Fire Protection District 10’s proposal passed with 65 percent of the vote.

Both proposals needed at least 60 percent “yes” votes to pass.

District 8 includes 110 square miles south of Spokane, Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake and serves 23,000 residents from fire stations at Valleyford, Moran Prairie, Ponderosa and Saltese.

The district asked voters to restore its emergency medical services levy to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

“We’re very excited about it,” said District 8 Chief Bill Walkup. “We will continue to keep our promise to be good stewards of their funds.”

Meanwhile, Chief Nick Scharff of Fire District 10 said he was impressed by the voter turnout and is happy with the results.

He said that “65 percent was every bit or better than we expected. I guess that shows the community support.”

District 10 includes 99 square miles west of Spokane and serves 9,700 residents as well as thousands of people passing through the area every day at Spokane International Airport and on Interstate 90.

It relies heavily on volunteer firefighters. The district has only six paid staff members but has 60 volunteers.

The district asked voters to restore its regular levy to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value.