Spokane County Fire District 8 asks voters for EMS levy increase

Spokane County Fire District 8 officials are asking voters to boost medical response services with a tax increase on the April 22 ballot.

The district has proposed a levy lid lift to return the EMS levy to the 50 cents per $1,000 in assessed home value allowed by law. Among other improvements, the district plans to use the money to ensure all four stations have a paramedic on duty 24 hours a day.

Fire District 8 covers 190 square miles south of the Spokane and Spokane Valley city limits.

Voters last approved the full 50-cent-per-$1,000 levy in 2000. Levy rates usually fall over time as assessed home values fluctuate. The district is collecting 29 cents per $1,000 and wants to raise it before it drops further and becomes a much bigger ask for voters, Fire District 8 Fire Chief Lonnie Rash said.

“Assessed values have eroded,” he said. “We want to keep it a small ask.”

The increase of 21 cents per $1,000 in assessed home value will cost the owner of a $750,000 home $157.50 a year. The levy lid lift is also structured in a way that it will allow the district to keep collecting the full 50 cents per $1,000 for the next six years, after which the levy rate will begin to decrease if property values increase.

An EMS levy can be used to fund personnel, medical equipment and supplies and other equipment. If the levy lid lift is approved, the district plans to hire two new paramedics, Rash said. That will ensure that there will be a paramedic on duty at all four stations 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That is not the case now, Rash said.

“There’s usually one station that doesn’t have a paramedic about 50% of the time,” he said. “It does vary.”

The district hopes to replace cardiac monitors, automatic external defibrillators and Lucas devices that are nearing the end of their life span. A Lucas device is a mechanical instrument that can perform CPR compressions on a patient.

It takes a large group of people to perform CPR on a patient because the person giving compressions quickly tires, and firefighters rotate through that role every two minutes, Rash said. The Lucas device makes it easier for a smaller group of firefighters to give the needed care.

“It really reduces, initially, the need for manpower,” he said. “They’re extremely useful.”

The levy increase, if approved, would be used to purchase new extrication tools, specifically the Jaws of Life used to rip open cars so patients can be removed. Newer versions are battery powered and lighter and easier to use, Rash said.

The district also wants to purchase an alternative response vehicle. The vehicle would be staffed by medical personnel and be sent to medical calls where a fire engine is not needed. Currently, 83.7% of the calls the district receives are for medical issues, and a full fire engine isn’t needed for most of those. Using an alternative response unit reduces wear and tear on the engines and extends their life, Rash said.

Other local fire departments use pickup trucks as their alternative response units, but District 8 would like to explore purchasing a vehicle that can be used for patient transport if needed, Rash said.

“It just positions us for the future, and it’s much more cost-effective than sending an engine to a fall call,” he said.

If the levy lid lift is not approved, Rash said the district would continue the status quo as much as possible while looking for ways to be more efficient. The cost of medical supplies and medications has increased significantly in the past two years, and Rash said he expects that to get worse after new tariffs have been imposed on all imports.

“I would assume that would continue but at an accelerated pace,” he said of price increases.

Completed ballots must be mailed with a postmark of April 22 or before, or dropped in an election drop box by 8 p.m. April 22. The measure needs majority support to be approved.

Additional information is available at www.scfd8.org.