Voters in Clallam County Fire District No. 3 have become unintentional targets of misinformation, Fire Chief Steve Vogel says.
“I really want to make sure I have this right. I know there are a lot of people with questions,” Vogel told Peninsula Daily News on Wednesday — the same day an opposition statement in a weekly newspaper accused him of circumventing state election laws for the district’s financial gain.
Commissioners in the east Clallam County fire district are asking voters in the all-mail election ending Sept. 14 for a sizable increase in levy funding of general fire operations.
The district is looking for a 63 percent increase to its property tax rate.
A successful levy election — requiring a simple majority “yes” vote — would take funding from 91.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $1.50 beginning in 2005.
Vogel says the increase is needed because of a rapidly growing population base — much of it senior citizens more likely to require emergency medical services — coupled with heavy commercial growth, especially in Sequim.
He also cites firefighting facilities and equipment in need of replacement or repair.
Opposition entry
Mike Nicholson, a Carlsborg-area resident who queried Vogel in person over the proposed levy, wrote the opposition entry in a voter section appearing Wednesday in Sequim Gazette.
Nicholson also spoke with PDN about what he said was the district’s attempt to sidestep state laws restricting the ways special taxing districts can use money they receive through levy funding.
“I really like the chief. Don’t get me wrong,” Nicholson said.
“But he’s not saying, ‘I need to raise extra money to put into the reserve account.’
“He has said, “I need to buy equipment and buildings.”
Nicholson said state law requires levy monies collected under the simple-majority vote to be used for basic operations.
Capital expenditures, such as vehicles and equipment, must be funded through special levy elections in which 60 percent voter approval is needed, Nicholson said.
But the fire district’s attorney has counseled the district that it can use any portion of its general levy funding for district operations, according to Vogel.
And a financial analyst with Municipal Research & Services Center, a nonprofit organization advising Washington municipalities on how to comply with state law, said there is no question the fire district and others like it have that discretion.
“Some things we deal with are interpretations and are subjective,” said Judy Cox, a 13-year analyst for the Seattle-based organization.
“This one isn’t. It’s black and white.”
