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Commissioners vote 2­1 for 45 percent levy lift

by Meg Olson

“We’re at a juncture. It’s time for the taxpayers to decide if they want to continue at this level of service. If you want the service, pay for it. If not, we go back to the dark ages,” is the warning fire district chairman Jesse Lofquist is sending to Point Roberts voters: either vote to almost double the amount of taxes paid for fire and emergency medical service (EMS) or face deep cuts to services.

At the August 14 fire district meeting Lofquist and fellow commissioner Don Frantz voted to pursue a funding strategy based on voters approving a 45 percent increase to district levy rate as well as a countywide new EMS levy of 38 cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation.

Lofquist said the tax increases were needed for several reasons. The first was to increase revenue. ‘If people want intermediate life support (ILS) there’s no way they’ll continue receiving it at the current rate,” he said. The budget proposed if both tax increases are approved includes salary and benefits for two full time firefighter positions in addition to division chief Nick Kiniski. North Whatcom Fire and Rescue Service (NWFRS) chief administrator David Crossen said he anticipated hiring some current volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians on a part-time basis to make up those full time equivalents. “The goal is to have ILS 24/7 but not necessarily to bring in new people,” he said. Crossen said they were looking at a model in place on Bainbridge Island where several emergency medical technicians from Seattle departments work one or two shifts a month, adding up to a full-time presence.

Funds will also help build reserves more quickly to prepare for apparatus replacement. “That’s not something you want to do with a bond, you want it in your budget,” Lofquist said. “It’s something you want in your budget and that’s reflected here.” The budget predicated on both tax increases meeting with voter approval has $78,000 going into reserves every year. Two other budget scenarios looked at one or the other of the levy increases failing include $20- 25,000 going into reserves. Staff did not prepare a budget scenario looking at voters rejecting both increases. Commissioner Don Frantz speculated that in that case the level of service now in place, relying on volunteers to man the emergency response vehicle as they are available, would continue, but reserves could dwindle instead of grow. “The department would deteriorate even more,” he said. “We won’t be able to repair or replace things.”

Lofquist said the increase to the district 5 levy was also needed to bring it even with the levy rates of NWFRS partners district’s 13 and 3 to allow a merger between the three districts to move forward. “We’re about twelve years behind the curve when it comes to taxes,” he said. All budget scenarios include $14,000 for district 5’s share of a NWFRS chief administrator.

The fire district will hold an open house on October 16 at 7 p.m. at the community center about the future of fire and medical services in Point Roberts and why substantial tax increases are needed. Lofquist said if both the fire and the EMS levy pass it would cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $100 per year. “Do you want to take some friends out to dinner or do you want to have a decent level of service in your community?” he asked.

Commissioner Bill Meursing was the dissenting vote on the question of whether to ask the voters for a tax hike. “For me what counts is, do we need all this money?” Meursing asked. “This is asking too much.” Meursing also wanted to know why the possibility of generating revenue by charging for ILS ambulance services was not being considered. Lofquist and Frantz both answered that the funds generated would not be sufficient to run the ILS program.

Meursing chose to abstain on a later vote in which Frantz and Lofquist approved transferring an additional $12,000 in the current budget to NWFRS to pay for a part-time data entry position for administrative support. Lofquist said that when NWFRS was formed,the district 5 contribution to administration was former chief Mike Campbell. “Chief Campbell is no longer with NWFRS so district 5 is getting a free ride,” he said. In an interview following the June 26, 2001 signing of the interlocal agreement creating NWFRS Campbell, the new chief of that organization, said the district 5 contribution would be the salary of one division chief, while district 13 would be responsible for the chief’s salary.

Lofquist added that there was an increasing administrative burden from the Wellness Clinic that needed to be addressed. “I told the Wellness Clinic board it was not this board’s intention to take on the cost of the clinic’s administration,” he said. NWFRS financial officer Diane DeFries said Interfaith Community Health Center, which charges nine percent of the clinic’s receipts for billing and administration, does not do the accounting for the clinic. “I’ve spent a lot of time on the phone and in meetings,” she said.

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