Home insurance rates, response times threatened if Tri-Cities fire levies fail again

Jul. 15—Demand for fire and ambulance service just outside of the Tri-Cities has more than doubled over the past five years.

And now the fire districts responsible for protecting these fast growing areas outside of city limits need help from voters if they hope to keep up.

Without voters approving new levies to help several fire districts, which are responsible for both fire response and ambulance services, they'll have to start cutting into reserves to operate. They're just asking voters to reset their shrinking levy rates.

The problem these districts are facing is that Washington state law limits them to a 1% increase each year over the total amount collected the year before unless they go to voters for approval for more.

So even when average assessed values skyrocket and thousands of new homes are built, they can still collect just an additional $10,000 per $1 million in previously collected property tax revenue.

That barely covers the costs they've seen for increased fuel bills in recent years.

Franklin County Fire District 3, Benton County Fire District 2 and Walla Walla Fire District 5 are all asking voters to approve a levy lid lift when they fill out their ballots in the next few weeks.

Why it matters

Franklin County Fire District 3 Chief Mike Harris told the Tri-City Herald that he understands home owners are already feeling the pinch of increasing property taxes, that's why they're only asking voters to allow them to reset to their previously passed levy rate.

"Our levy rate keeps slipping, where it was a $1.27 per $1,000 (of assessed value), this year it slipped all the way below a dollar. It's at 88 cents," Harris said. "We'd like to maintain what the services we currently have and maybe improve service as we go. It would also improve home owner insurance."

Harris said that for example, they've had trouble maintaining enough staffing at the fire station serving the areas near the Columbia River north of Pasco. If they were able to build some reserves and fully staff that station, homeowners would see that reflected in their insurance rates.

Some Fox Island residents are seeing increases of 20% to 40% on their home insurance bills this year after their fire protection rating was downgraded due to staffing levels, according to Gig Harbor Now.

While the districts may collect taxes individually, they're in it together. Virtually every major fire in the Tri-Cities is a multi-agency response.

When Tri-City Pallets was burning last month, Franklin Fire District 3, Walla Walla Fire District 5 and others helped keep fires from spreading down Highway 12, while Kennewick Fire Department responded to calls within the city of Pasco to help them manage the demand.

When the Lineage cold storage warehouse in Finley burned earlier this spring, nearly every Tri-Cities area agency helped with the response and 45-day aftermath.

The same holds true for wildland fires. It often takes multiple agencies to contain the fires and then monitor them for days after to ensure they don't flare back up.

Harris said a total of five water tenders, trucks that have water tanks, responded to help with the pallet company fire. The water tenders were also instrumental in helping when there was an issue with one of the hydrants on the property.

"That was a key component, everybody was really focused on the pallets and keeping it from spreading to the office and the shops and some of the surroundings," Harris said. "And when that fire starts to drop (embers) 300 yards away on Highway 12, being able to do what we do on major wildland fires, activating a task force to come in and pick up those fires, was key because it allowed Pasco to focus on what they were doing with the pallet fire."

He said these types of agreements also extend to ambulance services. When one department is stretched thin, they're able to supplement.

Tri-Cities area fire agencies have what Harris called an automatic aid agreement, meaning that if one district or department isn't able to immediately respond, the next closest takes the call.

He said that about 1-in-3 calls involve helping or receiving help from another fire district, and that number is growing. Their calls for service are up 63% in five years and more than half of those now are medical emergency calls.

Harris said that all three districts asking for these levy lid lifts have seen similar demand for increased EMS services.

Levy lid lifts

These three fire districts serve as a buffer around the Tri-Cities to the north, east and west.

Franklin County Fire District 3 not only serves the unincorporated Franklin County "donut holes" in the city of Pasco, but it's also responsible for the fast growing residential areas to the north of city limits and the booming industrial growth to the east.

Walla Walla Fire District 5 covers the Burbank area, and frequently works hand in hand with Franklin 3 when it comes to industrial and wildland fires threatening homes and farms.

Benton County Fire District 2 covers the western reaches of the Tri-Cities and the areas around Benton City. That includes growing areas near Red Mountain, Horn Rapids and between Benton City and Prosser.

Levy 'compression'

Levy compression happens when growth outpaces the 1% levy collection increase limit set by the state.

Washington taxing authorities don't collect the full amount of a levy every year. They set a total levy based on the tax rate at the time it is passed and can only collect an additional 1% without voter approval.

That 1% amounts to $10,000 to $15,000 for Benton District 2, which had a $1.02 million budget in 2021.

Last fall these districts asked voters to build in an inflation increase, allowing them to collect up to 6% over the previous year's total. They believe confusion around the wording may have sunk them as voters rejected the levies.

This time they're asking voters to just "reset" their levies.

The chiefs told the Tri-City Herald that the confusion seems to have stemmed from voters seeing the rate increase and mistakenly thinking the entire levy amount on their individual tax bill would increase 6% every year.

But the reality is that your home's assessed value can go up 40%, but taxing districts can collect only the same amount as the year before plus 1%.

The more new homes that are added to an area, the more that total levy collection is spread out among all the taxpayers.

That means when a new levy is passed, the first year will see a bump and then compression will set in.

The inflation adjustment would have just allowed them to remain closer to the rate they originally passed.

Inflation, increased demand

Not only do these districts serve some of the fastest growing industrial and residential areas in the Tri-Cities, but they also have had to combat growing inflation making replacing equipment even more difficult.

Benton District 2 Chief Dennis Bates told the Herald earlier this year that a bond they passed in 2013 paid for several engines, water tenders and construction of two new fire stations. By 2018 that same amount of money was only enough to cover replacing aging vehicles.

Meanwhile, Bates said their calls are up more than 60% over the past five years.

Benton District 2 spent $44,000 on fuel alone last year. That was a 22% increase year-over-year.

Meanwhile the cost of buying new trucks has increased so greatly that many of the districts are choosing to go with complete overhauls rather than new builds.

The state Legislature says an average of 86,000 acres of wildland burned annually in the 1990s and then grew to more than 800,000 acres each year by 2020.

What are they asking for?

— Franklin Fire District 3's levy rate has been compressed by almost 40 cents in just six years. They're asking voters for a reset to put their collection at $1.28.

That 40-cent difference is only going to cost taxpayers an estimated $10 a month on their tax bill for a home valued at $300,000.

If it passes, they hope to use the money to pay for one new full-time firefighter, two seasonal firefighters for wildland fire season and to build up reserves for future capital improvements at Fire Station 33 on Selph Landing Road.

Harris said that station is going to be key to their response as Pasco continues to grow to the north. The demand is so great that Fire District 3 volunteers give their time in full shifts, rather than just leaving work to help with response to individual calls.

If the measure fails, Harris said they're going to have to start dipping more into reserves just to cover their operating costs.

— Benton 2 is at $1.50 for every $1,000 in property value. They want to keep that rate the same, but by asking voters to renew the tax every six years, they're able to keep the rate closer to current collections.

Due to increases in population, their current $1.50 is actually collecting around $1.47 and dropping each year. They've also dropped an "inflator" that would have automatically adjusted the tax rate, because voters seemed wary of it.

— Last fall Walla Walla District 5 asked for their first increase in three decades, but voters narrowly rejected raising the 24-cent increase request.

The measure failed by just 22 votes, which trickled in after election night results.

They also pointed to the inflator as the sticking point for voters.

This time they'll ask for the same $1.38, but without the inflator. Their current rate is $1.22.

They estimate it'll cost $4 per month more on a home valued at $300,000.

— Walla Walla Fire District 4 is also seeking a levy lid lift.

District 4 serves unincorporated portions of the city of Walla Walla and areas around the city to the south.

District 4 is asking for their first lid lift in nearly 40 years. They want voters to approve an increase from 88 cents to $1.26 cents per $1,000 in taxable value.

They estimate that will result in a tax bill increase of $12.67 a month on a $400,000 home.

Ballots for the Aug. 6 primary election will be send out by July 19.

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