Spokane County Fire District 8 asks voters – again – to OK levy passed in April but could not be approved due to error

Voters in Spokane County Fire District 8 will get to decide on an EMS levy lid lift Aug. 5, a measure that initially had obtained 58% of the vote required in April.

Last approved nearly 20 years ago, the levy, which included automatic consumer price index adjustments, wasn’t able to be approved due to a technicality during April’s special election despite it having enough votes. Washington law mandates that CPI adjustments must be placed on primary or general election ballots, not special elections.

Lonnie Rash, Spokane County District 8 fire chief said the department’s “legal counsel made an error when they filed it with the county, and it was not able to be processed through the Elections Division.”

Rash explained that nothing has changed on the proposal, and the Board of Fire Commissioners, which governs District 8, wanted to be “very transparent” with why the levy, while approved, hadn’t been filed. “We wanted to come back to the voters,” Rash said. “Let them have full transparency of what had occurred … and why we’re rerunning it again after the April approval.”

The levy lid lift, if passed, would allow for the tax rate to return to a maximum of 50 cents per $1,000 of property value, which would be a 29 -cent increase over the current rate. For a home valued at $750,000, it would be a $13 monthly increase for the owner.

If the levy passes, the district plans to maintain and increase the quality of EMS coverage across the district.

“We really want to maintain EMS across the district at all four of our fire stations. And when I say EMS, it’s not just our basic but it’s our advanced life support, our paramedics,” Rash said. “And so to do that, to ensure that we have a paramedic on at every station, 24 hours a day, we’re looking to hire two additional firefighter paramedics.”

Equipment is also another expenditure that the district is hoping to maintain and increase if the levy passes.

“Over 83% of our calls are EMS related. Cardiac monitors are closer to $45,000 to $50,000 apiece,” Rash said. “So to staff all of our stations with an extra we’re looking at a capital outlay of about $250,000 so that will help us to keep this going.”

In addition to equipment the department is looking at a transport-capable vehicle similar to an ambulance.

“If there were a large-scale incident where ambulances were not able to get to our citizens right quickly, we could potentially use that in an emergency situation as well. So we’re just sort of positioning for the future,” Rash said.

Rash is optimistic the levy will be approved this August.

“I trust the voters will decide what they need to do,” Rash said. “… So I’m hopeful, based on our last levy, with 58% of our citizens voting for it, that it will pass, because I think it’s still a critical need for our community.”