PORT TOWNSEND — A levy lid lift measure to support fire and emergency services in Port Townsend was undecided Tuesday night.
The measure was failing by a four-vote margin after the initial count of ballots in the general election, with 1,728 voters, or 50.06 percent, opposed to the measure while 1,724, or 49.94 percent, approved it.
“My canned response is that if the measure passes, I admire the intelligence of the voters, but if it fails I haven’t explained it well enough,” said Port Townsend City Councilman David King, who campaigned for the lift.
“It was a tough decision for voters, and it’s a tough time to ask for a tax increase.”
Auditor Donna Eldridge plans another count of ballots today.
Eldridge said the new count would be posted sometime in the afternoon to allow time to collect ballots from the post office box.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office issued 6,849 ballots in Port Townsend for the all-mail election, and as of Tuesday, 3,710, or 54 percent, had been returned.
The office counted all ballots but those that had remained in drop boxes or were coming in by mail.
Election officials predicted that about another 1,000 countywide would come in this week.
The levy lid lift was intended to address an imbalance between what city and Jefferson County residents pay for emergency services.
It would authorize a maximum levy rate for collection in 2012 of $2.4868 per $1,000 assessed value, an increase of about 43 cents per $1,000 assessed value.
For a house assessed at $300,000, this represents a yearly increase of $129, or almost $13 a month.
The increase is restricted to providing for fire protection, prevention and emergency services by contract with East Jefferson Fire-Rescue to match the contribution of residents in the unincorporated area of East Jefferson County.
In 2010, the city of Port Townsend and the county found the need to subsidize fire and emergency medical services through a voter initiative.
But while the county put levies for fire and emergency medical services on the March ballot, the city decided only to request funds for EMS services.
All the measures passed, but when the city sought to make up for the $640,000 shortfall in fire services through another initiative, voters defeated it in August 2010.
Following this defeat, the city was faced with two options: create a regional fire authority or annex city services into East Jefferson Fire-Rescue, deciding the latter choice would provide a shorter path to consolidation.
The annexation vote will be delayed at least a year, since the purpose of the annexation is to equalize the amount that city and county residents pay for fire and emergency services.
The ballot measure addresses the $640,000 shortfall and, if passed, would be in effect until annexation occurs. It would continue indefinitely if annexation is defeated by voters.
The city of Port Townsend, faced with budget cuts, was carefully watching the results of the election as it will determine which programs will be cut or receive city support.
“We don’t know what we can support until we know how the levy does,” said Deputy Mayor George Randels, who Tuesday lost a bid for a second elected term.
City Manager David Timmons has said if voters defeat the measure, the city would still need to make up the $640,000 in order to pay for fire services along with an additional $900,000 of necessary cuts.
This adds up to $1.5 million, which is equivalent to the Port Townsend Police Department’s yearly payroll.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
