Two payment options

By Aug. 18, voters who live in southern Stevens County, many who commute to Spokane to work, are faced with a real dilemma. Fire District 1, a huge district that includes 375 square miles, has seen expenses far exceed revenues.

The voters have received a ballot which contains only one proposition. Proposition 1 asks for a levy lid lift that would increase fire and EMS taxes from 92 cents per $1,000 of property assessment to $1.20 per $1,000, or about $56 more per year for a $200,000 home.

If the proposition fails, as many as three out of eight fire stations would be closed, response time would suffer, and homeowners’ insurance rates would increase 10 percent 40 percent or more in some cases. If the proposition passes, all eight fire stations would remain open, response times would be maintained at current levels, and homeowners’ insurance rates would stay the same.

So voters have to decide whether to pay a little bit more in taxes to the fire district or pay their insurance company a lot more money for homeowners insurance.

Bob Given

Nine Mile Falls