PORT ANGELES — Would you pay more than double what you already pay in property taxes for faster responses to fire and medical emergencies?
That’s what Clallam County Fire District 2 residents may soon begin pondering in light of an advisory committee’s recommendation to consolidate Clallam Fire District 2 with city of Port Angeles fire and emergency services by Jan. 1, 2012.
After studying the issue for three years, the 12-member Consolidation Study Committee — named in 2007 by Clallam County commissioners — will consider the proposal at 3 p.m. Thursday in the Port Angeles Fire Department training room, 102 E. Fifth St.
The meeting is open to the public.
Review report
Committee members will review a 69-page report that recommends District 2 and the city fire department join forces to improve emergency response times for both the city and District 2 — but mainly for District 2, which embraces Port Angeles, curving around it on the east, west and south.
Port Angeles Fire Chief Dan McKeen and District 2 Fire Chief Jon Bugher authored the report with assistance from the city of Port Angeles, Peninsula College and District 2 attorney Joe Quinn,
Consolidation would combine the two emergency service entities into one regional fire authority called Port Angeles Fire & Rescue.
A regional fire authority also has been brought up in East Jefferson County for the city of Port Townsend and East Jefferson Fire-Rescue.
Voters in Port Angeles and District 2 would have to approve the plan — and the levy that would fund it.
Fire District 2 is larger at 85 square miles than the Port Angeles district, which is 10.7 square miles.
But Fire District 2’s population is 8,864, compared to Port Angeles’ 19,260.
McKeen, Bugher, and Port Angeles Mayor Dan Di Guilio — who chairs the advisory committee — said they expect the committee to approve the recommendation on Thursday.
Vote in summer 2011
If they do — and the Port Angeles City Council and District 2 fire commissioners approve the plan later this summer — it would go to voters in spring or early summer 2011 for implementation by Jan. 1, 2012, McKeen said.
The new tax levy would be close to the equivalent property tax rate of $1.35 per $1,000 rate paid by city property owners, McKeen said.
Since there is no city levy that specifically funds the department, $1.35 per $1,000 of valuation is the equivalent amount in property taxes that property owners pay into the general fund to pay for fire department operations, McKeen said.
That is more than double the 61 cents per $1,000 of valuation that District 2 property owners pay for their volunteer department — and for slower response times, according to the report.
It would mean the owner of a $200,000 home in District 2 who now pays $122 would pay an estimated $270 if voters approve consolidation, while Port Angeles property owners would remain at the same tax rate, McKeen said.
Response times to fires and medical emergencies would improve under consolidation, as would the fire insurance premiums of at least some property owners, the report said.
Response times
According to the report, which examined response times to calls in 2007 from fire stations to emergency scenes, the Port Angeles Fire Department can respond to 90.5 percent of all calls within six minutes.
By contrast, also examining 2007 calls, Fire District 2 personnel can respond to 43 percent of all fire calls in six minutes and 61 percent of calls in eight minutes.
Olympic Ambulance, which handles primary medical service for District 2, takes more than eight minutes for 51 percent of calls that cover 89 percent of the district.
Consolidation would expand services to east Port Angeles by staffing the District’s Deer Park station and also benefit Port Angeles by adding on-site staff to the Dry Creek station, according to the report.
Fire insurance ratings also would improve for some residents with improved service, the report said.
Di Guilio said consolidation also addresses emerging budget issues for the city and District 2.
Diminishing resources available to both “will begin impacting the ability of both fire districts to provide the community with services,” he said.
“Under this plan, people get an increased level of service, so I think it’s a win-win for everybody.”
Highlights of plan
Some highlights of consolidation, according to the report, are:
• District 2’s unstaffed Deer Park station east of Port Angeles would be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• The Dry Creek station west of the city would be at least partially staffed, serving the needs of District 2 but also west Port Angeles.
• The new district would have 33 full-time employees — seven more firefighter-paramedics than the current combined total — who would staff the Deer Park and Dry Creek stations.
• District 2 stations near Lake Pleasant, on Black Diamond Road and at Gales Addition would continue to be staffed by volunteers.
• The consolidated district would have 84 volunteer positions, including the existing 60 in District 2 and 24 in the Port Angeles Fire Department.
District 2 Chief John Bugher also would retire, he said Tuesday. McKeen would head the new district.
Discussions are ongoing with Olympic Ambulance on how the company would fit into Port Angeles Fire & Rescue, McKeen said.
McKeen and Bugher also are on the advisory committee.
Other members are Rhonda Curry of Olympic Medical Center and Todd Ortloff of KONP Radio as citizens at large, volunteer firefighter Mike DeRousie, City Council member Patrick Downie, former mayor and former City Council member Karen Rogers, Fire District 2 commissioners Dick Ruud and David Whitney, Public Safety Advisory Committee member Dan Sterling and Kelly Ziegler of Firefighters Local 656.
The report is available from the Port Angeles Fire Department, 102 E. Fifth St., 360-417-4655.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
