Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue will ask voters for a levy lid lift in the general election this November.
The agency’s board of commissioners passed the levy lid lift resolution unanimously at a public meeting June 8. The commissioners are asking for a lift of 32 cents per $1,000 assessed property value, which would bring the levy rate from its current 86 cents to $1.18 per $1,000.
In combination with the fire district’s ongoing bond rate of 15 cents per $1,000, this levy lid lift would bring the total tax rate for the district to $1.33 per $1,000.
The owner of a $500,000 house will pay an additional $160 annually if the levy passes.
“We feel this is a very reasonable, very doable thing, and it would shore up a lot of potential risk that we have out there and increase survivability rates and reduce response times dramatically,” Fire Chief Jerry Helm said.
The levy lid lift is meant to primarily address staffing shortages the department is facing. If passed, the lid lift would allow the department to hire four more full-time firefighters. Currently, the department staffs two three-person crews and one two-person crew; an additional four staff members would allow the department to have three four-person crews.
Helm told the commissioners during last week’s meeting that this would allow the department to respond to emergency calls more quickly and meet the state requirements for interior search and rescue operations.
State law requires two firefighters on the inside and two on the outside of a burning building to perform interior search and rescue operations if there are no confirmed people inside the building, Helm explained. With four people on a shift, firefighters could begin such operations immediately upon arrival at the scene of a fire without waiting for another engine to arrive.
More staff also allows the department to respond more quickly to overlapping calls. Helm said that around 28% of calls to the department come back to back.
Call volume has increased by more than 50% since the department last passed a levy lid lift in 2012.
“Our staffing models have not kept up with the growing demand for emergency services,” Helm said.
The chief said in an interview that members of the public present at the meeting were supportive of the levy lid lift resolution.
The general election will take place Nov. 7.
