Merger of Fire Districts 10 and 38 to be part of April 26 special election

Published 1:14 pm Thursday, February 18, 2016

After a year of planning and discussion, the proposed merger of King County Fire Districts 10 and 38 will be on the ballot in King County’s April 26 special election.

Mike Mitchell, member of district 10’s Board of commissioners and Fire Authority planning chairperson, said the decision to put the proposal came after public feedback meetings in North Bend, May Valley, and Carnation and a special joint meeting of commissioners from districts 10 and 38 on Feb. 10.

Both fire districts are pursuing the merger to increase stability and service in the areas they cover. The districts, which cover unincorporated parts of North Bend, Snoqualmie, Carnation, May Valley, Preston and Tiger Mountain, have lost land and funding to city growth.

“We are being reduced in size by annexations, and so we feel joining together will give us a better platform for stability for the future. We want to maintain our present service levels and have a stable funding source,” he said.

Currently Fire District 10’s funding comes from taxes on assessed property evaluations and a fire benefit charge which is based on the square footage of a building.

District 38 collects only property tax revenues.

The new, merged fire authority would be funded by a property tax levy of $1 per $1,000 of assessed value, plus a fire benefit charge in both districts.

“We would put the district 10 model across both areas to collect a dollar per thousand on assessed evaluation and the amount we need above that would be part of the fire benefit charge, so as the property values fluctuate we set the fire benefit charge annually to make up the difference to collect no more or no less than we need,” Mitchell said.

According to Mitchell, the proposed merger of districts 10 and 38 is one of 13 proposed fire district mergers in the state and nine have merged in the past.

The only thing left to do before election day is to set the rate of the proposed fire benefit charge.

“One thing that we have to do prior to the vote is set the rate for the proposed fire benefit charge and so that is going to happen at our next regular planning committee meeting on March 17,” Mitchell said.

If the merger is voted through, the regional fire authority will come into effect on July 1, with board members being appointed by each district.

For more information on the fire authority, visit http://www.firedistrict10.org/theme_02_designpgRFA%20Info.html.