Firefighter staffing levels on the Eastside are more than 20 years behind the times, says the fire chief.
That, despite a huge jump in property values.
"It's not safe for the general public and it's not safe for firefighters," says Dave Baker, chief of Douglas County Fire District 2.
Baker said the district's assessed valuation in 1992 was $747,400 million. In 2015, it is at $3 billion.
"That's pretty telling in terms of how large we're getting," Baker said.
Minimum staffing levels in 1992, were at two career firefighters, he said. That remains the same today.
The remedy, Baker says, is to increase property taxes that, over six years, would double the fire department's budget, increase the firefighting staff, and fund construction of two new fire stations.
Approval, by a simple majority, would increase the rate from the current 76 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $1.35 over those six years.
The district last asked voters to increase the levy in 1979. The money brought in would pay for new fire stations in areas of significant urban growth such as Rock Island and in the district's north end. It would also pay for equipment and increased personnel. Areas of new fire stations would depend on where land could be purchased.
The district owns two fire stations: the main station in East Wenatchee and a small station in Rock Island. The latter would be replaced with new construction.