A pair of operating levies for the Bend Fire Department sailed to approval in Tuesday’s primary election, both winning by a 3-to-1 margin.
Voters in Bend city limits were asked to approve a levy of 20 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. Voters saw nearly the identical ballot question in the Bend Rural Fire Protection District No. 2, which operates in partnership with the Bend Fire Department.
Department staff were at Pacific Pizza watching results come in on their cellphones.
“We’re feeling pretty good,” said Dave Howe, battalion chief. “Things are going in the right direction.”
The department is responsible for responding to fire and emergency medical calls in the city, as well as the outlying, 130-square-mile district encircling the city.
The levy has added between $2.5 million and $3 million per year to the department’s approximately $23 million budget.