Taxpayers in southwest Thurston County have an opportunity to show their support for their firefighters on Aug.1 with Proposition 1 for a multi-year lid lift to maintain current staffing levels across the 162-square-mile service area.
Without passage, the department’s budget will only be allowed to grow by 1%, which falls short of keeping up with the rate of inflation or increased costs for providing services. Failure of a successful passage will likely result in firefighter cuts, which places our community in jeopardy.
West Thurston Fire Authority is the fifth-busiest fire response agency in Thurston County behind agencies in the Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater and Yelm areas.
West Thurston provides first response to all community residents for fire, EMS and rescue. Although Thurston County taxpayers are assessed for Medic One, that only provides paramedic services to the county. This levy brings the back to the maximum allowable rate of $1.50 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation.
Department leaders listened to the public after the double failure of the excess levy in 2022. The excess levy was to not only keep ahead of the growth but also to fund necessary apparatus and facilities upgrades which were defrayed to keep adequate firefighting staffing levels.
This lid lift is only to maintain the existing staff so they may continue to serve the community. With an average of seven to eight calls per day over the entire response region, there are many times that multiple calls for service are active in the same area with only one local crew available. A third of the time, two calls are occurring simultaneously. This requires an additional unit to respond from another part of the district, risking precious minutes that could mean the difference between a successful outcome or a tragedy.
The naysayers state that the levy will place undue burden on taxpayers. Think of an extended response to a fire or life-threatening medical emergency due to the local station crew being already committed to an incident in the community.
What is acceptable to offset that burden? A 12-minute response time? A 15-minute response time? Longer?
In critical care of sudden cardiac arrest, there is a 10-minute window for a potential successful resuscitation. The size of a fire doubles every 60 seconds. Imagine a Scatter Creek or Bordeaux wildfire with partially staffed stations. Firefighters are facing these incidents on an increasing basis.
The department is asking only to stay current with its staffing so it may meet the expectations and safety of our community.
The naysayers say to look for grants to fund programs. Grants are highly competitive and West Thurston has been a successful recipient in past years, but they are never guaranteed and grant evaluation at times takes months.
West Thurston has demonstrated fiscal responsibility and transparency for many years. Don’t fall into the trap of allowing one naysayer to try to convince you otherwise due to their own personal agenda. Vote yes on Proposition 1 and keep your community safe.
Robert W. Scott
Retired fire chief
Rochester
