PORT TOWNSEND — Voters served by the East Jefferson Fire District and the Brinnon Fire Department will decide today on resolutions to lift the lid on levy limits and allow the districts to collect additional property taxes to fund separate fire and emergency medical services operations.
The resolutions are the only measures on the ballot.
As of Friday, there were 8,413 ballots returned out of 24,519 sent to voters, or 34.31 percent, according to the Secretary of State’s office. Eighty-three ballots, or 0.99 percent, were being challenged.
Election results will be posted online after polls close at 8 p.m. No measures are on the Clallam County ballot for the special election.
Voters can have their ballots postmarked before 8 p.m. or place ballots in a secure drop box. Those locations include:
• The Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., with boxes located in the back parking lot, a walk-up location in front of the courthouse steps and on the first floor inside the courthouse just outside the auditor’s office.
• Brinnon Community Center, 306144 U.S. Highway 101, Brinnon.
• Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Ave., Port Hadlock.
• Nordland Fire Station, 6633 Flagler Road, Nordland.
• Olympic Peninsula Gateway Visitor Center, 93 Beaver Valley Road, Port Ludlow.
According to state law, the total amount a taxing district can collect is subject to a 101 percent levy limit, which means the total dollar amount it collects every year can’t increase more than 1 percent (not counting new construction) from the previous year.
A simple majority is needed to approve lifting the 101 percent levy lid.
Here is an overview of the proposals on the ballot:
Jefferson County Fire Protection District 1
East Jefferson Fire Rescue, which includes the former Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue, covers 123 square miles of incorporated and unincorporated Jefferson County and includes Port Townsend, Port Ludlow, Cape George, Chimacum, Irondale, Kala Point, Marrowstone Island and Port Hadlock.
The fire district is asking voters to approve a levy that would increase the amount it collects from 85 cents to $1.30 per $1,000 of property value. If the proposal passes, owners of a property valued at $499,290 — the average in the district, according to the Jefferson County assessor’s office — would pay $649.08 in property tax for the levy.
The fire district is also seeking approval of an EMS levy that would rise from 36 cents to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. If the EMS proposal passes, owners of a property valued at $499,290 would pay $249.64 in property tax for the levy.
Jefferson County Fire Protection District 4
The Brinnon Fire Department covers about 131 square miles in southern rural Jefferson County.
It is seeking approval to increase its fire levy from 94 cents per $1,000 of property value to $1.50. If the proposal passes, owners of a property valued at $331,935 — the average in the district, according to the Jefferson County assessor’s office, would pay $497.90 in property tax for the levy.
The fire district is also asking voter approval to raise its EMS levy from 36 cents to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. If it passes, owners of a property valued at $331,935 would pay $165.97 in property tax for the levy.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached at paula.hunt@soundpublishing.com.
