PORT ANGELES — Clallam County voters approved a levy lid lift for Fire District 2, a measure that is expected to bring the district an additional $1.1 million based on 2023’s assessed property values.
About 58.7 percent of voters (2,481 votes) had approved the levy lid lift, which required a simple majority to pass, as of Tuesday night.
The ballot measure raised the fire district’s current levy from 96 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.
With the new rate, the owner of a property valued at $400,000 will pay an additional $216 in property taxes per year.
Clallam County Fire District 2 Chief Jake Patterson said there are a number of things the money will support, although the priority is refilling the vacant deputy chief position.
It also will ensure continued funding for the district’s nine career firefighters, allow them to purchase needed equipment, support the capital vehicle replacement plan and allow the district to begin master planning for potential new facilities, Patterson said.
In terms of equipment, the district is considering purchasing a gurney load system for an ambulance to help reduce firefighter and EMT injuries. Patterson also said the district has a self-contained breathing apparatus compressor that has been broken for the past two years.
“Our top priority is getting that replaced,” he said.
Fire district commissioner Keith Cortner said, “The voters passing the levy will allow us to continue serving them as they are.”
“It’s not a full answer to where we need to be,” Cortner added, although he noted it is making progress in that direction.
Levy income currently makes up about 82 percent of the fire district’s funding. If the levy lid lift had not passed, the district would have been forced to make “service-level cuts” by the end of 2026, according to prior reporting. Now, Patterson said, current operations can be sustained.
Fire District 2 covers 85 square miles from East Beach Road at Lake Crescent east to Deer Park Road, excluding the city of Port Angeles. It also provides mutual aid to neighboring fire districts as needed.
This is not the first time the levy lid lift has been on the ballot. In the August primary election, voters rejected the same measure 53 percent to 47 percent.
In August, the fire district also placed a 50-cent Emergency Medical Services (EMS) levy on the ballot, which did not pass. The district elected not to put the EMS levy on the November ballot, although Cortner said it will likely appear again in the future.
Both Patterson and Cortner said having two levy measures on the August ballot may have confused voters, and that could have led to both rejections.
“There’s always some confusion with that when you’re approaching any type of levy,” Cortner said. “We may have just compounded that confusion.”
Patterson said he was excited the levy lid lift passed and was grateful for voter support.
“It’s gonna make me sleep better at night,” he added.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
