Fire and parks districts seeking ‘For’ and ‘Against’ committee members

With both the fire and parks district seeking voter approval of operating levies in the upcoming November election, election law calls for recruiting people to fill ‘for and against’ committees to write statements for the voter’s pamphlet which is published by the Whatcom County elections office.

The fire commissioners have approved a 45¢ per $1,000 levy lift which will increase the levy from 69¢ to $1.14 per thousand assessed value. A house assessed at $350,000 will see their fire district taxes increase from $241.50 to $399. A million-dollar home’s taxes would go from $690 to $1,140. In order to pass, the lift requires a majority of voters to approve the measure.

The parks district, on the other hand, is simply asking for the same amount of money as the current levy which will mean to impact or increase in taxes for ratepayers. Unlike the fire district, the parks district requires approval from a super-majority, or 60 percent, of voters.

Both levies are six-year levies, meaning that the amount collected will remain the same for six years unless the districts opt for an annual 1 percent hike in taxes.

Statements for and against the levies need to submitted to the Whatcom County Elections Office by August 7. Each committee cannot have more than three members, must appoint a chair to serve as contact with the elections office and prepare a statement for voters expressing why the levy should or should not be approved. Those interested in serving may contact parks district board chair Mitch Friedman at mitch.friedman3@gmail.com or fire chief Christopher Carleton at ccarleton@wcfd5.com.