Ballots are arriving: Here’s how much money Gig Harbor Fire is asking for, what it’d fund
Voters will decide whether to renew Gig Harbor Fire’s general levy Aug. 1.
“This is not a new request but simply a reset of the levy needed to fund our District’s day-to-day work and maintenance of our fleet and facilities: all critical aspects to providing adequate service to residents and businesses across the District,” according to the Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One website.
Back in 2017 the district asked voters to lift the levy lid for the first time in more than a decade, and voters reauthorized it at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value, the Gateway reported.
But the fire district only received the full $1.50 the first year.
“State law limits growth of tax revenue collection to no more than 1% more than the previous year’s budget, it’s a lid on tax collections,” Gig Harbor Fire Chief Dennis Doan told the Gateway.
Property values grew faster than the 1% cap. This lowered the actual tax rate to $1.18 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Now with that 2017 levy lid set to expire, the levy renewal asks voters to allow GHFMO to return the rate back to the full $1.50.
The levy renewal will “ensure our District has adequate funding to maintain the staffing and equipment needed to respond to emergencies across the District,” according to the GHFMO website.
“We reset it back to that $1.50 rate, then if property values stay flat it would be $1.50 the next year,” Doan said.
If renewed, the levy will be for an additional six years.
For a Gig Harbor-area homeowner with a home worth $865,000, they will pay about $276 per year or $23 per month.
A homeowner with a $700,000 home will pay $18 per month.
Doan said the money will be used for new fire engines and air packs.
Air packs are self-contained breathing apparatuses firefighters wear on their backs to breathe in smoke, Doan said. Eventually they run out of life and need to be replaced. This year they will need to order over 135 packs, he said.
New packs will cost them about $2.2 million total, Doan said.
Some of their fire engines also need to be updated or replaced, he said. An engine costs about $1 million, he said.
If the levy renewal doesn’t pass, they risk having to reduce service, according to Doan.
GHFMO has five staffed stations with crews that cover an area of 54 square miles. They serve from the Kitsap County line south to the Narrows Bridge, including Fox Island and Raft Island and the city of Gig Harbor, Doan said.
In 2022 they responded to 7,016 calls.
If you’re thinking you just voted to fund GHFMO last fall, you did.
In August voters approved an $80 million construction bond that the district will use to improve its facilities, Doan said. Then in November voters approved the GHFMO EMS levy to fund emergency services and certifications for paramedics.
The money from the construction bond and the EMS levy can’t be used on day-to-day operations, according to Doan.
The general levy up for renewal this August is what would fund those daily operation needs, he said.
There wasn’t a statement against the measure in the Voters’ Pamphlet for the Aug. 1 election.
