Proposed annexations win by large margins

Spokane Valley-area voters approved proposed annexations in Tuesday night’s mail-in election by a large margin.

Spokane Valley will be annexed into the Spokane County Library District, and the town of Millwood will be annexed into the Spokane Valley Fire Department’s coverage area.

Eighty-six percent of voters supported annexing library services back into the Spokane County Library District, according to unofficial results from the county elections office.

“We are thrilled and gratified that the people in Spokane Valley want us to continue to provide them with the service we have been providing for 60 years,” said Frank Payne, chairman of the library district’s board of trustees.

Library services have been in the hands of Spokane Valley city officials since the town incorporated in 2003. The city eventually decided to contract with the district. The annexation takes the city out of the loop.

Spokane Valley city officials said they weren’t surprised by the election results, because only one person spoke against the annexation.

“I’d figured that would be a grand slam,” Councilman Gary Schimmels said.

Residents won’t pay higher taxes as a result of the library’s annexation. The 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value they pay now will go directly to the district rather than the city.

“It keeps the status quo for library users and takes the city out of the picture,” said Michael Wirt, Spokane County library director.

Millwood’s annexation into the Spokane Valley Fire Department’s coverage area will make a notable difference, officials said Tuesday.

Voters in Millwood and those in Spokane Valley Fire Department’s coverage area approved the annexation with more than 80 percent of the vote, according to the county’s unofficial election results. The annexation had to be approved by a majority in both areas.

The annexation completes a process that began about a year ago. The Spokane Valley Fire Department bought Millwood’s fire trucks and absorbed its full-time firefighters, and the town contracted with the Fire Department to provide service to Millwood’s residents.

“We will be able to work more closely with (the community) and provide more public education and fire prevention,” fire Chief Mike Thompson said.

Millwood had a volunteer fire department until about a year ago, when it disbanded amid a budget dispute and in-house fighting between volunteers and management. The decision to contract with the Valley department was made when Millwood officials were concerned there wasn’t enough coverage for its residents after 11 of 12 volunteer firefighters quit.

Without annexation, “we would have had to keep contracting with the Fire Department, which would have cost the city about $500,000 a year,” Millwood Mayor Jeanne Batson said. “We were scrounging to get that money.”

Millwood residents will see a tax increase of as much as $62 a year for a $100,000 home, or 62 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Taxpayers outside the town but within the Valley’s coverage area will pay about $6 less a year for a $100,000 home.

“People knew this was the best way for fire protection,” said Millwood resident Bobbie Beese, who blamed city officials for putting the town in a situation where annexation was the only option. “Millwood residents are always practical.”