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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Spokane will ask city voters to renew $13 million EMS tax levy

With the temperature well over 100 degrees, Spokane firefighter Sean Condon, left, and Lt. Gabe Mills, assigned to the Alternative Response Unit of Fire Station 1, check on the welfare of a man in Mission Park on June 29. The special fire unit, which responds to low priority calls, was kept busy during the June heat wave. Another heat wave is expected Friday and Saturday. (COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Adam Shanks adams@spokesman.com(509) 459-5136

Spokane voters have steadfastly approved and renewed a levy to support emergency medical services since 1993.

City leaders hope 2022 won’t be any different.

A renewal of the city’s six-year EMS tax levy will be on the special election ballot in April.

The proposed rate is the same as when voters last approved the levy in 2016 – 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. But because there is more property value in Spokane than six years ago (just ask anyone who recently bought a house), the total EMS levy revenue from the levy will increase from $9.4 million to $13.1 million.

The increase is necessary to absorb rising labor and equipment costs, according to city officials. They warn that should voters turn down the levy, the city’s fire department – which provides emergency medical services – could be forced to cut back service and slash staffing.

The current levy expires at the end of 2022, and the new levy would run through 2028.

The proposal has the backing of Mayor Nadine Woodward and the Spokane City Council.

On Monday, the City Council approved an ordinance placing the levy on an April special election ballot.

Historically, the levy has been renewed at a rate of $0.50 per $1,000 assessed value, which is the maximum allowed under state law. For a home valued at $300,000, that’s about $150 per year.

The $9 million EMS levy covers a significant portion of the fire department’s $57 million budget.

“The cost of operations and equipment changes from year one to year six…as we see those costs increase, often times the levy doesn’t even pay for those,” Woodward told The Spokesman-Review.

The consequences of failure would be dire, according to fire department leaders.

“Just about every aspect of our department touches EMS in some fashion,” Spokane fire Chief Brian Schaeffer told the City Council earlier this month.

The cuts necessitated by the loss of revenue would be “draconian,” Schaeffer added.

The city would have to end its basic and advanced life support emergency medical services, according to Schaeffer. It would have to lose between five and 10 fire companies, which are the primary means of emergency medical response, and five to 10 managers in charge of overseeing the emergency medical response system.

Councilman Michael Cathcart supported the levy, but said Monday night that elected officials should assure the public that they will rein in costs, like fire department overtime spending, which has ballooned in recent years.

“There’s some opportunities for us to do a lot better… but the levy is really, really crucial to funding some of these public safety efforts,” Cathcart said.

The levy takes a simple majority vote to pass.

City officials are not allowed to use city resources to campaign for the measure, but city spokesman Brian Coddington said the city plans to provide information to residents about the levy ahead of the April 26 vote, such as by including flyers in utility bills.