I am writing concerning Justin Burnett’s series on firefighting, and more specifically, the Central Whidbey Fire District levy. I am hoping the purpose of the series is informative, objective writing which will also cover the financial status of Central Whidbey Fire and Rescue.

I do not disagree that the district needs to take action to meet manning needs. I’m just not convinced that they don’t already have the funds to do that. Levies for public entities are typically specified for operational needs, and on an occasional basis, a special levy is brought for major capital investment like buildings. But CWFR’s current levy not only has met past operational needs, but also had significant excesses to cover major capital investments.

The beautiful new firehouse in Coupeville was built from accumulated  reserves, so the citizens didn’t even have to vote on the issue. Likewise, for their 2012 budget, the district had sufficient accumulated reserves to buy a $500,000 fire engine. The new levy request will raise an additional $500,000 per year, and I don’t think there is any transparency in what the total budget needs are. I do hope you will be able to report on this side of the issue in your news coverage.

John Kohlmann
Coupeville