PORT TOWNSEND — Voters could see the defeated Port Townsend levy lid lift for fire services, which they defeated in Tuesday’s primary election, on another ballot.
Because of the terms of the interlocal agreement between East Jefferson Fire-Rescue and the city of Port Townsend, the identical measure could be run again, and probably will be on another ballot in the near future, said City Council members Mark Welch and David King.
The proposal would have raised the city levy rate for fire services by 43 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, bringing the rate the city devotes to fire services to $1 per $1,000 of assessed value.
That would match the amount voters in the surrounding county area approved in April.
Port Townsend is not part of the East Jefferson Fire-Rescue district. The city obtains fire and emergency medical services from the district through a services contract.
Supporters say the measure was needed to alleviate a $622,000 shortfall in the projected cost of fire services.
“This is part of an ongoing process in developing a fire district and making sure that it fits the needs of the whole county,” King said after learning of the defeat on Tuesday night.
“So we’ll pick it up as part of the budget process and go from there.”
When the election results were announced, Welch, King and fellow Port Townsend City Council member Laurie Medlicott were attending a meeting of the joint oversight board of East Jefferson Fire-Rescue, on which they serve as representatives of the city.
Welch said the city will need to find the money to compensate for the shortfall somewhere, and that could mean cutting some programs or budgets.
Measures supporting county fire service, county emergency medical service and city emergency medical service were passed by voters in an April 27 vote.
At the time, the city opted to find other options to continue fire service and not put it in front of the voters, an action that some council members think was a mistake.
“In retrospect, maybe we should have put all the measures on at the same time,” Welch said Tuesday.
Medlicott said the measure had no precedent.
“In its entire history, the city has never voted on a fire levy and fire service has always been paid for out of the general fund,” she said.
Mayor Michelle Sandoval said Thursday voters did not understand what the measure for fire services meant, and that its presence on the ballot so soon after the April ballot question for emergency medical services confused them even more.
“People were telling me they voted against the levy because they wanted the city to have its own fire service and they didn’t want us to contract services to the county,” she said.
“What they don’t understand is that we’ve been contracting with the county for the last six years.”
The idea of an independent Port Townsend Fire Department is not on the table since both options now under discussion involve consolidation of services with East Jefferson Fire Rescue.
Pursuing either one of those options, a regional fire authority or annexing the city into the fire department’s district, will take at least a year, during which the city will experience a $622,000 shortfall, city officials have said.
The defeated levy was designed to create funds that would provide services during the transition.
Sandoval said that many people wait until the last minute to study the issue and when it is complicated, such as with this measure, they lose interest or reflexively vote against any tax hike.
“People don’t realize how reasonable fire rates are here,” she added.
Fire Chief Gordon Pomeroy, Sandoval and the three members of the joint board between the fire district and the city all feel that the public “needs to be educated” about the issue, but they don’t know how that can be accomplished.
“We’ve tried to get the message out,” Sandoval said.
“But we held three town meetings about the subject and almost nobody came.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
