By Reporter staff
Fire districts 10 and 38 in east King County are hosting two meetings in mid-April to answer questions voters may have about a measure on the April 26 Special Election ballot.
King County Fire Protection District 10 serves Carnation and the unincorporated areas of May Valley, Tiger Mountain, Mirrormont and Preston. King County Fire Protection District 38 serves the unincorporated areas around North Bend and Snoqualmie.
Both fire districts are within Eastside Fire and Rescue, a regional partnership with the cities of Sammamish, Issaquah and North Bend.
Fire commissioners from districts 10 and 38 are asking voters to combine the two fire districts into one fire agency, to be called Eastside Fire Authority.
“The goal is to protect emergency service levels long-term, reduce costs and improve efficiencies for taxpayers,” according to a press release. “The fire authority would continue to be a partner in Eastside Fire and Rescue.”
Under the new fire authority, a majority of the cost to provide emergency services would be funded through a fire levy of $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The remaining amount would be collected through a benefit charge, which is set through a public process each year.
The tax rate equivalent of the benefit charge would average $0.49 per $1,000 of assessed value for property owners. This means that property owners in Fire District 10 will see a tax decrease in the amount they pay for fire service starting in 2017.
Property owners in Fire District 38 will see an average increase of $0.20 per $1,000. That would be an increase of $68.20 per year ($5.68 per month) for the average home valued at $341,000. Fire district officials say that this amount is necessary to maintain emergency service levels because the current levy rate of $1.29/$1,000 in Fire District 38 is not sustainable.
The first meeting will be April 13 at Station 78 in Issaquah at 20720 SE May Valley Rd. The second meeting will be held April 14 at Station 87 in North Bend at 500 Maloney Grove Ave. SE. Both meetings will run from 7-8 p.m.
More information about the proposed ballot measure can be found on the web pages for fire districts 10 and 38 on Eastside Fire and Rescue’s website at www.eastsidefire-rescue.org.
