Voters in Spokane County Fire District 4 north of Spokane will see a renewal of the district’s emergency medical services levy on ballots arriving in the mail for the August election.
The levy has been in place since the 1990s and has been renewed by voters every six years, said Fire Chief Randy Johnson. The levy was reduced to 33 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2010 because of the recession, but now the district is asking voters to return the levy to the 50 cents per thousand it was before.
The rate of 50 cents per thousand will cost the owner of a $200,000 home about $8.33 per month, Johnson said. It will raise $1 million a year for the district, which accounts for 20 percent of its total budget.
The funds will be used for EMS training, staffing, supplies and equipment. The district offers advanced life support services with a combination of volunteers and paid part-time employees. It also has a medical response unit: a four-wheel drive pickup filled with equipment and staffed by one paramedic. The unit is based at Station 42 in Chattaroy.