Ballots arriving for Feb. 12 special Spokane election

Spokane County voters should soon be receiving ballots in their mailboxes for the Feb. 12 special election.

The ballots, mailed out from Wednesday to Friday, contain five measures for more than 232,000 of the 320,000 registered voters in the county.

Proposition 1 in Spokane is a proposal to increase property taxes by an additional 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value to fund crime reduction programs and the hiring of more than 30 firefighters and 20 police officers. It would take effect in 2020. The measure would not apply to tax exempt senior citizens and qualified people with disabilities.

Orchard Prairie School District 123 has a replacement levy on the ballot to finance education programs and operational expenses not funded by the state. The levy would collect $125,000 a year for two years beginning in 2020.

Spokane County Fire Protection District 8, which covers parts of the South Hill, south Spokane Valley and Valleyford, is asking voters to consider a replacement levy that would ensure adequate staffing of firefighters and paramedics, provide additional training in advanced lifesaving techniques and sustain service levels. The replacement levy rate is 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value and would generate more than $7 million over four years, beginning in 2020.

Spokane County Fire Protection District 13 – or Newman Lake Fire and Rescue – is seeking replacement of an emergency medical services levy that’s expiring at the end of 2019. The levy rate of 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value would fund operation of emergency medical vehicles, facilities and supplies as well as maintain the fire district’s level of service.

Spokane Valley Fire Department has a replacement maintenance and operations levy on the ballot, which would fund operations, equipment additions, station remodeling, replacement of firetrucks, and a proposed fire station and maintenance facility near Barker Road. The levy rate of $1.90 per $1,000 of assessed home value would generate $113 million over four years and maintain the department’s level of service.

This article was updated Jan. 27 to reflect the city of Spokane’s proposition 1 measure would not apply to tax exempt senior citizens and qualified people with disabilities.