CIFR services hinge on proposed levies

Island County Fire District 1, Camano Island Fire and Rescue (CIFR), is seeking to renew two levies this year.

Chief Mike Ganz said the levies are a critical component in determining the department's staffing and response capabilities.

Voters will be asked to decide the fate of both levies August 18.

"It's through these levies that the community tells us what level of service we are going to provide," said Ganz. "Our primary revenue sources are levies."

Emergency medical services (EMS) are nearly 50-percent funded by a voter-approved levy that expires every six years. The current EMS levy expires at the end of this year.

"If the levy is not renewed, our level of service would drop," he said.

A proposed increase to the fire levy, is also needed due to a state mandated increase cap of 1 percent on revenue, said Ganz.

"As a result, the fire district is required to return to the residents to renew the levies in order to avoid reducing services," he said. The proposed levies are different from the $10 million bond approved by voters in 2007, said Ganz.

"The bond was primarily for new facilities and improvements," he said.

The new Madrona fire station, set to go into service within the next 18 months, will only be fully-staffed if the levies can support it, said Ganz.

The new station will dramatically reduce response times for emergency crews to one of the most densely populated areas on the island, he said.

"If you're in a balanced budget — which we are — you can't add a new station into the mix like that without more (operational) funds," said Ganz.

The current rate of the EMS levy is 31 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value.

The renewed EMS levy proposal calls for an increase to 50 cents per $1000 of assessed value.

The firelevy, which is a permanent levy, would increase from 84 cents per $1,000 to $1.20.

"Approval of the levies would mean a slight increase in property taxes," he said.

For example, if both levies pass, the owner of a $300,000 home would pay $510 annually for fire and EMS. In that example, the increase in taxes would amount to $165 per year.

Ganz said the department is always looking for additional funding sources that don't tap into the wallets of homeowners.

Aside from the bond and levies, CIFR has also received more than $1 million in federal and local grants for equipment and training during the past few years.

Currently, CIFR administrators are trying to get the word out about the levies and detailing information about current and future fire and rescue needs, he said.

"If both levies are renewed, (CIFR) should be able to add 10- 12 additional firefighters," said Ganz. "The levies are what put people in the seats and fuel in the trucks."

Steve Lich, District 1 fire commissioners' chairman, said that the district strongly urges as many voters as possible to weigh in on the levies.

To pass, the measure not only needs a 60-percent majority but also needs a turnout of 40-percent of those who voted in the last election to be validated.

Jan Treml, Keep Camano Safe citizen's group president, said everyone who lives on the island will benefit from passage of the levies.

"It will reduce medical and fire response times all over the island," said Treml.

Treml said the group formed in support of the levies because of a shared concern that a down economy would make voters reluctant to support a tax increase.

"We could lose many of our firefighters is this doesn't pass," she said. "We're very concerned about it."

The citizen's group meets every Thursday, 8:30 a.m., at Camano Country Club clubhouse, 1243 Beach Drive.

For more information, visit www.camanofire.com or www. keepcamanosafe.com.