PORT ANGELES — Both Clallam County Fire District 2 ballot propositions appeared to be rejected by voters following initial primary election results.
“Obviously it’s a little disappointing,” Fire Chief Jake Patterson said Wednesday. “We’d hoped for more support.”
As of Tuesday night, 48.88 percent of voters approved the levy lid lift, which requires a simple majority to pass. The 10-year EMS levy received 51.87 percent of voter support, but it requires a supermajority of at least 60 percent to pass.
Results could change, given that an estimated 40 percent of the ballots remained to be counted.
The levy lid lift would have increased the fire district’s levy from its current rate of 96 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to $1.50 per $1,000, a 54-cent increase.
That would cost a homeowner with a home valued at $300,000 an additional $162 in taxes every year.
The current levy brings in just more than $2 million annually, or about 82 percent of the fire district’s budget.
Patterson said the levy lid lift would have maintained current fire and EMS service levels. Since the proposition appears unlikely to pass, Patterson said he’s going to be in conversations with the staff and the fire district commissioners to determine “the best option to try to fund services.”
The EMS levy would have instituted a property tax of 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for the next 10 years. It would cost a homeowner $150 per year for a home valued at $300,000.
The goal was to use the money garnered from this levy to hire additional staff and meet future EMS demands, Patterson said.
Patterson said both levies are “critical to providing our current level of support and any future needs we may have.”
If the results don’t change, Patterson said he is planning to bring the levy lid lift back to the public during the general election in November.
He said he likely won’t put the EMS levy on the ballot again, given that it needs a supermajority to pass.
“We’ll just give voters a single option of the fire levy to sustain current levels,” Patterson said.
Between now and November, he plans some public outreach to determine how to better inform the public and clear up any confusion that may exist surrounding the levy lid lift.
“I hope we can better educate the public of the needs the fire district has so that an ambulance and a fire truck can keep showing up,” Patterson said.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
