Rockford, Spangle seek voter approval for levies

As November approaches, residents of Spangle and Rockford face their annual task of voting for levies to fund various fire and police issues. Budget dollars are particularly precious in small towns and officials say they depend on the continued approval of the levies.

The town of Rockford has two levies on the ballot, both of which are replacing expiring levies. The first is a fire protection services levy that would allow the town to collect 51 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value. The levy is for one year and anticipates collecting a total of $12,400 to help fund the fire department.

Replacing firefighter equipment is an ongoing expense for the town, said Rockford Mayor Carrie Roecks. “The needs are always the same,” she said.

The second levy is for emergency medical services and would collect 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value. This levy would run for six years if renewed by voters.

The town of Spangle has two annual levies on the ballot that are typically approved with large margins every year. The fire protection service levy seeks authorization to collect $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed home value for one year. The $23,000 raised would be used to pay for the town’s fire coverage from Spokane County Fire District 3.

Spangle’s second levy is for police protection services. It requests a one-year collection of $1.19 per $1,000 of assessed home value for a total collection of $17,000. The money is used each year to pay for the town’s law enforcement contract with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

The Spangle Cemetery District also has a maintenance and operations levy on the ballot. The district is requesting 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value, which would raise an estimated $15,000. The levy money is used to maintain the cemetery, which includes mowing the lawn and cleaning up damage from storms.

All the levies require a 60 percent supermajority to pass.

Ballots will be mailed to voters between Oct. 19 and 21. Ballots returned by mail must have proper postage and be postmarked by Nov. 8. Ballots also can be dropped off without postage at official elections drop boxes by 8 p.m. Nov. 8.