3 of 4 Spokane County fire district levies pass
Aug. 2, 2022 Updated Tue., Aug. 2, 2022 at 11:09 p.m.

Voters approved three of the four fire district levies Tuesday night in Spokane County .
Spokane Valley
The Spokane Valley Fire Department received 54% support to raise its levy back at the cap of $1.50 per $1,000 of property value. An owner of a property valued at $400,000 will pay $600 a year for the general fire tax.
Spokane Valley Fire Department Chief Frank Soto Jr. said the proposal would then lower the special maintenance and operation tax from $1.66 to 66 cents.
District 3
Spokane County Fire District 3 won 54% support to enact a new emergency medical service tax. This tax levy would sit at a cap rate of 50 cents per $1,000 of property value. The levy will generate nearly $2.4 million and will have a direct impact on the response time of the district, according to Fire District 3 Chief Cody Rohrbach.
It’s estimated that for a property valued at $400,000, property owners would have to pay $200 for the initial year.
District 4
Spokane County Fire District 4 won 67% support to reinstate its Emergency Medical Services tax back to 50 cents per $1,000 of property value. It is estimated that $3.3 million would be generated for Fire District 4 under the measure. Similarly, the owner of a property valued at $400,000 would will pay $200 in taxes the initial year.
The money will fund EMS operations, including salary and equipment. The district’s fire chief, Bill Neckels, says close to 80% of the total calls the district receives are EMS related.
District 13
Fire District 13 near Newman Lake asked voters to renew its general fire levy rate back to $1.50 per $1,000.
But after placing the measure on the ballot, district leaders reversed course and told voters they did not need as much as the proposal would allow.
Voters listened and rejected the tax with 62% voting against. Under the proposal the owner of a property valued at $400,000, would have paid $600 a year toward the general fire tax.
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