July 27, 2010
Support Washougal EMS levy

By Heather Acheson

For more than 30 years, Washougal taxpayers have supported emergency medical services provided with the help of monies generated from a property tax levy. When ballots arrive in the mail later this week for the Aug. 17 Primary Election, voters should continue this trend and vote “yes” on the City of Washougal emergency medical services property tax levy.

This isn’t a new tax, but instead is a renewal of an existing six-year levy that is set to expire at the end of 2010.If the levy is approved, the current tax rate of 50 cents per $1,000 assessed property value will continue. The owner of a $250,000 home would pay approximately $125 annually.

The funding provides for paramedic ambulance service for Washougal residents. It also pays the salaries of two firefighters. The department operates with a minimum staffing level of two firefighters on duty. The levy also provides money for emergency medical training for all WFD personnel.

For the past three decades, through an inter-local agreement and this property tax levy, Washougal has received locally-provided emergency medical services. In the upcoming election, voters should mark “yes” on their ballots so that this quality, well-managed and consistent emergency medical service care continues.

July 27, 2010
Washougal residents to vote on EMS levy
Six-year replacement levy will not involve an increase

By Dawn Feldhaus

Washougal voters will be asked to continue supporting the city’s emergency medical services program this August.

Washougal voters will soon be asked to approve a six-year replacement emergency medical services levy.

Ballots, which are expected to arrive in local mailboxes later this week, will need to be postmarked no later than Tuesday, Aug. 17.

If the levy is approved, the current tax rate of 50 cents per $1,000 assessed property value will not increase.

“The levy will not cost homeowners any additional tax since it is simply a renewal of an existing levy for another six years to maintain EMS service within Washougal,” said Camas Fire Capt. Kevin Bergstrom.

As president of the Camas/Washougal Professional Firefighters Local 2444, he represents firefighters in Camas and Washougal.

The levy, which will require a 60 percent ‘yes’ vote to pass, will cost the owner of a home assessed at $150,000, $6.25 per month. The owner of a home assessed at $250,000 would pay $10.41. Since it is not a new tax, it replaces a levy approved in 2004.

The current EMS levy provides for paramedic ambulance service for Washougal residents. It also pays the salaries of two firefighters. The department operates with a minimum staffing level of two firefighters on duty. The levy also provides money for emergency medical training for all WFD personnel.

If the levy does not pass, Bergstrom said there is the potential that there would be no ambulance serving any portion of Washougal.

“The voters could have a second attempt to pass the levy during the General Election cycle in November, but that is not an ideal situation,” he added. “We feel that this is a simple renewal of a longtime existing levy, and there are more than enough reasons for the voters to pass the levy.”

Individuals can register to vote through Friday, Aug. 6, at the Clark County Elections Office, 1408 Franklin St., Vancouver.

For more information, call 397-2345 or visit www.clark.wa.gov/elections.

July 19, 2010
In Our View: ‘Yes’ on EMS Issues
Aug. 17 ballot measures seek to extend levies in Fire District 6 and Washougal

Voters in Fire District 6 and Washougal would be wise to avoid jumping to conclusions when they receive their ballots for the Aug. 17 primary. Without close review, they might be alarmed by words such as “tax levy,” “impose,” “collection,” “assessed valuation” and “authorized.”

Fear not. Rather than placing new burdens on taxpayers, these two ballot measures merely ask voters if they would like to continue current funding levels for emergency medical services.

Today The Columbian begins a series of endorsement opinions related to the Aug. 17 primary (ballots will be mailed July 28) by recommending “yes” votes on these two EMS issues. In both cases, our stance is based on three factors: The need is great, the funding is not an increase but a continuation, and the impact of rejection by voters would severely curtail emergency response times and current levels of service.

Each ballot measure requires 60 percent voter approval.

Fire District 6

This district includes Hazel Dell, Felida and Salmon Creek, and is generally defined as running from Washington State University Vancouver south to Minnehaha Street, west to Vancouver Lake and north to 179th Street. Voters are asked to renew a levy that has been in place since 1980. It generates about $2.7 million annually, or about 27 percent of the district’s operating budget.

This money supports life-sustaining medical care that can only be administered by the district’s 22 full-time firefighter/paramedics. Those paramedics consistently post average response times of four minutes or less.

Money from the EMS levy also pays for supplies and life-saving equipment.

Although the law allows 50 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value on the EMS levy, the district seeks only 45 cents. Rejection by voters would result in layoffs of paramedics, reduced service and increased response times.

There is no reason for voters of Fire District 6 to discontinue their 30-year support of EMS services. Even in difficult economic times, the ability to save lives must not be compromised.

For more information, visit http://www.ccfd6.org and click on “Learn more about our EMS levy renewal.”

Washougal EMS

The current levy in Washougal yields about $611,800 annually to fulfill three needs. By contract with the Camas Fire Department, 24/7 paramedic service is provided to Washougal. Second, the funding pays for two Washougal firefighters. Third, the money helps support EMS training and equipment for paid and volunteer firefighters.

Overall, the CFD’s cooperative partnerships provide EMS service to several rural communities and an eastern portion of the city of Vancouver. This ballot measure, though, applies only to Washougal voters.

If the ballot measure fails, the Camas Fire Department could increase ambulance rates for Washougal residents or end its agreement with the city. As in Fire District 6, Washougal voters have a long history of financial support for EMS service, even with the supermajority requirement for extending levies. That commitment in Washougal has been unbroken since 1978.

For more information, visit http://www.emsyes.org.

May 10, 2010
Washougal asks voters for EMS levy
Replacement measure on August ballot will bring in $600K a year, preserve services

By Marissa Harshman 
Columbian staff writer

Washougal voters will be asked to continue supporting the city’s emergency medical services program this August.

The city will put a six-year replacement property tax levy measure on the Aug. 17 ballot.

If passed, the levy would assess 50 cents per $1,000 of value — the same rate as the expiring six-year levy — to residents’ property taxes. Owners of a home with an assessed value of $200,000 would pay $100 per year.

It needs 60 percent voter approval to pass.

The current levy will generate $611,871 for 2010 and the replacement is expected to bring in similar amounts each year during its life, said RJ Stevenson, Washougal’s interim finance director. The total collected could increase by 1 percent each year if assessed home values increase, plus any future construction, he said.

The money generated by the levy is used in three ways. First, the money helps maintain 24/7 paramedic service with the Camas Fire Department. The city of Washougal contracts with Camas for the ambulance service, which includes a station in Washougal, Fire Chief Ron Schumacher said.

Levy revenue also provides funding for two Washougal firefighters to ensure the department meets the minimum staffing guideline of two firefighters on duty at all times, Schumacher said.

And finally, revenue is used to provide emergency medical services training for all paid and volunteer firefighters and to help cover the costs of EMS equipment, he said.

“We believe it’s money well spent,” Schumacher said.

The levy was first passed by voters in 1978, and voters have never rejected the measure, he said. Should the measure fail this August, city officials are prepared to ask voters for approval again in November.

Without levy funding, Schumacher said, the Camas Fire Department might increase its ambulance rates for Washougal citizens or end its agreement with the city. The Washougal department would struggle to maintain the two firefighter positions the levy funds and would cut spending on training and equipment, he said.