Fire Districts 10 and 38 pass resolution asking voters to form merged fire authority

Published 8:30 am Thursday, August 4, 2016

Fire Districts 10 and 38 in east King County have unanimously passed a resolution asking voters to combine both agencies into one fire authority. The measure will be on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

The proposition is the district boards’ second attempt at combining. Voters rejected the proposed merger in an April special election.

The districts say they are losing property and tax revenue to neighboring cities from annexations, and working together will help both districts maintain emergency service levels.

Fire District 38 is at risk of losing almost 25 percent of its revenue through annexations by North Bend and Snoqualmie say officials. Costs climbed sharply for taxpayers in the unincorporated areas of May Valley, Tiger Mountain, Mirrormont, and Preston after Fire District 10 lost almost 3,000 parcels of land to Sammamish in the Klahanie annexation.

“We understand that annexations are part of growth management, but it has real consequences on funding for emergency services in our communities,” said Mike Mitchell, Fire District 10 commissioner and chairperson for the Eastside Fire Authority planning committee. “Combining the fire districts is more efficient for taxpayers and will maintain service levels long-term.”

If the merger is approved by voters in November, property owners in Fire District 10 would see an estimated tax decrease of 23 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

The current levy rate in Fire District 38 is not adequate to sustain service levels and will have to be increased, officials said. Property owners in Fire District 38 would see an estimated average tax increase of 20 cents per $1,000, if the proposition passes.

Part of the District 38 increase would be a fire benefit charge, to supplement the existing tax levy for fire services. Fire District 10 already has a fire benefit charge in place.

The benefit charge replaces approximately a third of the fire levy. The assessment is an annual charge based on the size of a building and its risk for fire. Smaller structures (such as single-family homes) are charged less than larger buildings because they coss less to defend in a fire. The charge is voter-approved and adjusted annually to meet the demand for service in the community.

Both fire districts are planning to provide a comparison calculator on their websites at www.eastsidefire-rescue.org within the next few weeks.