SEQUIM — Voters in Clallam County Fire District No. 3 will be asked this fall to approve an increase in the district’s fire operations levy funding.
District No. 3 Chief Steve Vogel said the skyrocketing costs of providing overall fire protection and medical aid services to an area predicted to experience rapid growth has made it necessary for the request, which will appear on either the Sept. 14 primary election ballot or the Nov. 2 general election ballot.
Fire commissioners on Tuesday voted to seek a levy rate for 2005 of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation — a 58-cent increase over the current collection rate of 92 cents per $1,000 in assessed value.
In 2003, the rate was $1.02 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
District boundaries
District No. 3 boundaries extend from the Jefferson County line west to Deer Park Road, and from Olympic National Park north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Comprising 135 square miles, it is one of the state’s largest fire protection districts in area.
That alone increases expenses associated with access to service recipients, Vogel said.
But another factor are the demographics of eastern Clallam County, with a higher-than-average elderly population contributing to a high number of medical aid calls, he said.
The district responded to more than 2,700 medical aid calls in 2003.
