ACFD 5 voters approving levy lid lift

OTHELLO — The “levy lid lift” approved by Adams County Fire District 5 voters will help fill the funding gap left when the city of Othello broke off contract negotiations in 2024, but ACFD 5 Chief Tom Salsbury said it won’t fill that gap completely.  

“It doesn’t come close to what we were getting,” Salsbury said. 

In unofficial election results released Tuesday, the proposal had 142 yes votes to 83 no votes for 63.11% approval. Updated vote totals will be released Thursday. The election will be certified Nov. 25. 

The fire district had a contract with the city of Othello, but the two sides could not come to an agreement on a new contract, and city officials opted to start a separate municipal department. The existing contract expires in 2026.  

The loss of the contract meant a sizable funding loss for ACFD 5, and district officials decided to ask for the levy lid lift to help make up the difference.  

The ACFD 5 assessment will be increased to 90 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, an increase of 27 cents over the previous assessment. The owner of property worth $222,000 in assessed value would pay $199.80 if the proposal is approved. A landowner with property valued at $350,000 will pay $297.  

Salsbury said he thought district voters understood the dilemma and voted accordingly. 

“When you showed them the numbers and said, ‘This just doesn’t work,’ they saw that,” he said.  

It was the first time ACFD 5 officials had asked district patrons for any increases, he said. 

The increased levy funding won’t make up for the loss of the city contract. Salsbury said in an earlier interview that the 2025 budget is about $1.43 million. The city’s 2025 contract with Othello is $793,000, and about $610,000 comes from district property owners, the release said. 

Negotiations with Othello are still possible, Salsbury said, and a new contract would provide enough money to operate the district and possibly expand. Without a contract, however, cuts may still be necessary.  

Some online training has been canceled in favor of in-district training, he said, and upgrades to the fire station have been deferred. The current five-person staff may have to be reduced, he said.