Millwood fire issue up to voters

The Spokane Valley Fire Department bought Millwood’s firetrucks and absorbed its full-time firefighters, and the small town contracted with the department about a year ago to man the Millwood station.

If voters decide to annex Millwood into Valley Fire’s coverage area, it would be the final step, officials say. Instead of contracting with the town, the fire department would tax Millwood residents directly, as it does patrons who live in the city of Spokane Valley. Town residents would see their property taxes increase.

If voters decide against it, the city will have to sign a new contract with the fire department – something it can’t afford, said Mayor Jeanne Batson.

The decision is up to the 59,400 voters who are currently served by Valley Fire, including those in Millwood. A majority of Millwood voters, in addition to a majority of those living outside the town, must vote yes for the proposal to pass.

The vote-by-mail ballots are due May 17.

Millwood’s fire department imploded last year amid a budget quarrel and in-house fighting between volunteers and management. Eleven of 12 volunteer firefighters quit.

Glenn Bailey, a veteran Millwood council member, said so far the Valley Fire Department’s presence has “made our town safer.”

The decision to contract with the department was made last summer when Millwood officials were concerned there wasn’t sufficient coverage for its residents using volunteer firefighters, he said.

“The officials of the town are supportive of the annexation,” Bailey said. “I haven’t heard anything negative from Millwood residents about it.”

Mike Thompson, the Spokane Valley Fire Department’s chief, said covering Millwood is working well for the fire department, and annexing the town into the department’s coverage area would make that arrangement official.

The bottom line for taxpayers served by the Valley Fire Department – those living outside Millwood – would be about 6 cents less in taxes for every $1,000 of a home’s assessed value. That amounts to a savings of about $6 a year for a $100,000 home, because the fire department would collect more from within Millwood than it has under the contract.

Millwood business owners may see a slight reduction in their insurance rates if the annexation passes, because of the official 24-hour fire protection.

It’s a different story for Millwood homeowners.

Taxes could go up as much as 64 cents per $1,000 assessed value – or $64 a year for the owner of a home valued at $100,000.

Millwood resident Bobbie Beese said she figured there would be a tax increase. But, she noted, that wasn’t conveyed in a recent newsletter from Millwood Town Hall.

Instead, Beese said, the newsletter only mentioned a 35-cent decrease in taxes for every $1,000 in assessed value that would result from the fire department absorbing Millwood’s bonded indebtedness for building the town’s fire station.

“A lot of us are unhappy about the annexation because we know so little,” Beese said. In the past, “the town of Millwood has always looked out for itself for the most part. When the sewer was put in and prices for those services were going to go up, they warned us. But since this all started last summer, it has been different. We haven’t been getting the town mailings with all the details.

“They’ve been doing more of a sales job, than telling us why they made the decision,” Beese said. “It’s difficult to vote yes just on their (city officials’) endorsement when they’ve given us so few details.”