The 5,000 or so Lewis County residents that live within the boundaries of Fire District 5 may have to live without their own emergency medical response system if they don’t vote next month to approve levy funding for the service.
The fire district has never collected levy funds to pay for EMS services, which account for 70 to 80 percent of its call volume each year, instead using tax funds collected for fire services.
District 5 Commissioner Kevin VanEgdom wrote in a letter to The Chronicle that if the proposed levy of 49 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value does not pass in August, the district that includes Napavine as well as portions of State Route 508 and U.S. Highway 12 will have to cut the program altogether.
“It is my duty to provide the services that are paid for,” VanEgdom wrote. “That means we fund fire protection but not EMS.”
Similar measures have twice been voted down. The issue first appeared on the ballot in November 2016 and fell short of the 60 percent threshold of yes votes needed to pass a new levy.
Voters were in favor of the levy again in August 2017, but fell just short of the 60 percent threshold as well as the required turnout of 40 percent of eligible voters. About 1,500 people voted on the measure, or close to 150 fewer than needed.
“We’re going out to ring doorbells and putting up signs all over the place,” said Commissioner Tom Crowson, who is also a candidate for Lewis County Assessor. “I feel like if we can get to the threshold of voters, we’ll get 60 percent in favor.”
Interim Fire Chief Laura Hanson said she’s focused on reaching as many people as possible during the run-up to the election using the free resources available, such as the district’s Facebook page.
District leadership also formed a Citizens Advisory Panel that included people who Crowson referred to as the county’s biggest tax protestors. The panel was given access to district financial records and tasked with making recommendations, one of which was to put out the levy.
Hanson came up with the 49-cent figure, up from the 40 cents per $1,000 asked for in previous elections, by researching the gap between what the district spends each year on EMS services and what it recoups during the billing process.
“Typically, people only want to chat with us when they’re irritated about a bill they get,” Hanson said. “So we decided we’d pick out some community members and have them come in to go over things. One comment was that we should spend more on training, so we’re looking at where we can put money into the budget to get more support for volunteers to get them better training.”
What the result of a no vote would be is not yet clear, but potential outcomes cited by Hanson and Crowson aren’t full of optimism.
District 5 is one of the busiest among the 19 fire districts in Lewis County, according to Hanson, but one of the few that doesn’t draw funding from an EMS levy.
Hanson, who became interim chief in December, said talks are ongoing about what comes next should the levy fail. However, she said that Fire District 5 commissioners have been adamant the service would have to be eliminated if the levy fails again.
Cuts could be made to the current roster of responders that includes three medical responders contracted through American Medical Response. District infrastructure could also take another hit — the fire station located on Brown Road west of Napavine was sold last year to make up a funding deficit.
Crowson expects that people’s taxes would go up to account for expenses incurred by the district responding to medical emergencies. Taxpayers paid 81 cents per $1,000 assessed property value toward fire services in 2018, a rate that goes up by one percent each year.
Incident response may become limited to a fire truck — no ambulance — and take much longer to materialize depending on fire activity in the area.
“It could take a considerable amount of time to respond to a major accident on (Interstate 5),” Crowson said. “I don’t want to give a figure, but that’s just the reality of the situation. We don’t want to scare people, but we want them to be informed.”
Should the measure pass, it would free up funds in the fire budget for needed repairs to the three district fire stations and equipment. A recent roofing project at the main station on Washington Street in Napavine cost about $40,000.
The rescue fire truck owned by the district is nearly 20 years old and will need to be replaced within the next few years.
“We’re really hopeful that we have the support to get us over the hump,” Hanson said. “We’re out in the community trying to involve people in what their fire department does and can be capable of doing. Ultimately, it’s up to the voters to decide what they want to happen in their area.”
