Voting on ambulance, fire levies to end next Tuesday

ROYAL CITY - Voters on the Royal Slope have until 8 p.m. next Tuesday, Aug. 16, to cast a ballot on four levies related to personal safety.

Mail-in ballots started appearing in mail boxes recently. If you need a ballot, contact the county elections dept. in Ephrata.

According to Grant County Fire Districts Nos. 10/11 Chief Brian Evans, there will be elections personnel at the fire station on the 16th from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. to receive late ballots. The station is located at 336 Camelia St. NE in Royal City.

Evans has asked around, and it appears the election is going positively. He said voters have indicated they have marked the "yes" box.

Up for election are emergency medical services (EMS) levies and fire levies in Grant County Fire Districts Nos. 10 and 11. The EMS levies, if approved, would remain the same as they've been for 10 years. The fire levies would rise modestly.

"We're asking for what we need to keep operating at the level we are," Evans said.

The current EMS levies lasted 10 years. The new ones will be for six, both at a rate of 25 cents per $1,000 of property valuation.

That's a $25 yearly tax for a home valued at $100,000. The District 10 levy raises about $55,000 yearly. The District 11 levy raises about $33,000.

"There is less property value in District 11 ($173 million) than in District 10 ($254 million)," Evans said.

According to Evans, users are charged for ambulance service when it is needed. Some pay. Some don't. The ones who don't cause an operating loss.

Some calls are not billable because there is no transport involved. That makes the cost of responding to the call an operating loss. EMS funds make up for most of these losses.

Regarding the fire levies, Evans is hopeful the voters will approve a rise to $1 per $1,000. District 10 is currently at 86 cents, and District 11 is at 77 cents.

"We are eligible to ask for a maximum of $1.50. We are asking for what we need and what we believe people can afford," Evans said.

If voters approve the fire levies, that will mean a rise in revenue in District 10 from $220,000 to $255,000. In District 11, the rise would be from $134,000 to $170,000.

A new fire truck costs from $250,000 on up, depending on what's included. Districts 10 and 11 can't afford them without special grants.

"We haven't had a surplus of revenues, even with grant funds," Evans said. "Some of our fire money (about $20,000) subsidizes the ambulance service."

Evans would like to start building up funds toward the purchase of late model used trucks to replace the 30-year-old trucks in use today. Parts are no longer made for those trucks.