Voters in Kent, Covington and King County Fire District 37 could see a ballot measure next April about whether to approve formation of a regional fire authority.
City and Fire District 37 officials expect to finalize a plan this fall to form a regional fire authority that would merge the Kent Fire Department and Fire District 37, which serves Covington and parts of unincorporated King County next to Kent and Covington.
A regional fire authority would be able to levy a property tax as well as a new fire benefit fee to help provide more stable funding and increase response times to medical and fire calls, officials say.
If approved, the name of the new regional fire authority would be the Kent Fire Department.
“A regional fire authority may be new to the state of Washington about three years ago, but it’s not new to other states,” said City Councilman Ron Harmon at a Tuesday Council workshop on the proposal. “Fire districts and cities have gone to this option as a way to survive nationwide because of funding cuts.”
Residents of Auburn, Algona and Pacific became the first in the state to form a regional fire authority when they approved a proposal in 2006. Seventy percent of voters approved the measure. The Valley Regional Fire Authority now provides medical and fire service to the three cities.
Voters in Kent, Covington and Fire District 37 must approve a regional fire authority. The proposal, if approved by the Kent City Council and Fire District 37 board later this year, would go to voters next April. If passed by voters, the regional fire authority would be implemented July 1, 2010.
The measure would require 60 percent approval by voters because of a new fire benefit fee, said Kent Fire Chief Jim Schneider, who also oversees Fire District 37.
The regional fire authority, under a law passed by the Washington Legislature in 2004 and updated in 2006, can levy a property tax as well as a fire benefit fee. The fire benefit charge would be a variable rate based on the square footage and the amount of service provided to each house or business.
Under such a fee, an owner of an 1,800-square foot house would pay less per year than the owner of a larger home. Owners of commercial properties and apartment complexes would pay higher fees because of the additional fire equipment, firefighters and volumes of calls needed to fight fires at those properties.
Owners of a commercial property would pay more for a fire that required 21 firefighters than a homeowner would pay for a fire that required 15 firefighters, Schneider said.
Currently, property owners in Fire District 37 pay $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. Property owners in Kent pay a property tax that goes into a general fund, with a cost of about $1.63 per $1,000 of assessed value for the fire department. The city property tax would be reduced if the regional fire authority is approved and the city no longer needs to fund a fire department.
The exact financial costs to property owners have yet to be figured out by the regional fire authority planning committee, comprised of elected officials from Kent, Covington and Fire District 37. But initial estimates indicate that the regional fire authority would levy a similar rate to the city or Fire District 37.
“Residents would pay pretty much what they are currently paying,” Schneider said at the Council workshop.
An exact cost of taxes would be part of any proposal sent to voters for approval.
The city of Kent provides firefighters to Fire District 37 through a contract agreement that started in 1973. The district owns the fire equipment. Fire District 37 provides emergency services to Covington through a contract agreement.
If Kent and District 37 merge, budgets, capital facility plans, service contracts and maintenance costs can be more cost effective than under the contract agreement, fire officials said.
“People would know what they’re voting for,” Harmon said about the potential regional fire authority property-tax levy that would apply for six years if approved by voters. “A six-year levy would include plans for any new stations or personnel. Voters would know what they are paying for.”
The regional fire authority would be overseen by a board of three Kent City Council members and three Fire District 37 commissioners under a proposal before the fire authority’s planning committee. The city of Covington would have one advisory, non-voting position.
Councilman Tim Clark questioned Schneider about the proposed governing board that would give equal votes to the city and fire district even though the city would have more taxpayers, especially if Panther Lake residents vote Nov. 3 to annex into Kent in 2010.
“The intent was to keep it equal at 3-3 between the city and fire district so any change would be at least a 4-2 vote and has to be a combination of the two (city and fire district),” Schneider said.
Harmon added that the equal representation would not give one jurisdiction more authority than the other.
For more information, go to www.ci.kent.wa.us/fire and click on regional fire authority.
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