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2 of 4 Spokane County fire district levies pass

Spokane Valley firefighters responded to a fire at Spokane Seed, 6015 E. Alki Ave., just after midnight on Friday. The fire department's levy appeared to be passing in early election results posted on Tuesday night. (Courtesy of the Spokane Valley Fire Department)
By Mathew Callaghan The Spokesman-Review

Voters approved two 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, but the measure failed because it needed a supermajority of 60% to pass. 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.

Editor’s note: This story was changed on Aug. 19, 2022 to correct information about Spokane County Fire District 3’s levy proposal.