NWFR levy lid lift would help department add firefighters and replace equipment

North Whatcom Fire and Rescue (NWFR) will have its levy lid lift back on the ballot in the general election November 2 after failing in the primary election in August.

If the lift lid passes, NWFR will collect property taxes in 2022 at a levy rate of $1.45 per $1,000 of assessed value. NWFR will use the tax increase to maintain current service levels and add four battalion chiefs and four firefighters to the ranks. It will also replace fire engines, a ladder truck and water tenders, fire chief Jason Van der Veen said.

The levy is the primary funding source for fire and emergency medical services provided by NWFR. “It’s not a new tax, it’s a lifting of an old one so we can make ends meet,” Van der Veen said.

A levy lid lift authorizes tax collections to increase by more than the one percent “lid” that Washington initiative 747 limits property tax collections.

The current levy rate is $1.15 per $1,000 of assessed value. Fire districts have the authority to propose a levy up to $1.50 per $1,000, but NWFR has asked for $1.45 as that is what is necessary to cover costs, Van der Veen said. Someone with an assessed property value of $400,000, for example, would pay an annual rate of $580 if the proposition succeeds. They currently pay $458.40 a year.

In the primary, 46.2 percent (4,074 votes) voted “yes” for the levy lift, while 53.8 percent (4,749 votes) voted “no,” failing by 675 votes.

Of the fire districts with propositions on the ballot in the primary, Whatcom County Fire District 4 (WCFD4) was the only other in the county to have its levy lid lift turned down by voters and will have it on the November ballot.

Earlier this year, NWFR and WCFD4 entered into negotiations to form a regional fire authority (RFA) between the two districts that ultimately failed when NWFR pulled out of negotiations in April. If the RFA was formed, it would mean residents from Agate Bay to Birch Bay would be served under one district and would join a group of 12 RFAs already established throughout the state.

Fire protection districts 11, 14 and 16 as well as the Glacier Fire and Rescue will also have measures on the general election ballot.

Fire districts split the filling cost to place a measure on the ballot based on the number of voters in their service area. Van der Veen estimated that the election as a whole, between the primary and general election, will cost the district $35,000.

NWFR serves about 38,000 residents in a 156-square-mile territory. It has 77 firefighters, emergency medical technicians, volunteers and administrative staff in total and three fire stations staffed around the clock.

In 2020, the district responded to 3,679 emergency calls, which was a 52 percent increase from 2011. But NWFR received fewer service calls in 2020 due to Covid-19, according to the district’s website. The year before, 2019, the call total was 3,983.

Van der Veen said the increased demand is straining NWFR’s resources. Without the levy increase, he said the district will not be able to maintain its service levels, even with resource management and salary reductions.

Van der Veen said any residents with questions or those interested in learning more about the levy should feel free to reach out to him and the district. “It’s an important measure and we’re hoping people take another look at it,” he said.

For more information on NWFR and the levy lid lift, visit nwfrs.net.