Among the items on the upcoming Lewis County Aug. 1 primary election ballot is a request by Lewis County Fire District 3 in Mossyrock for voters to lift the levy lid and allow an increase in taxes over the next six years.
The district says, if passed, the measure would allow it to maintain and adequately fund district operations.
Should voters approve it, the levy lid lift would be the first in the district since its incorporation in 1948, according to the district.
The Lewis County Fire District 3 Board of Commissioners believes the revenue the increase will generate is “necessary to maintain the current level of services, firefighter staffing, equipment and facilities and to purchase updated apparatus to continue to improve services for the protection of life and property in the growing district and to enhance public safety,” according to a statement in the voters’ guide.
The current levy rate for district residents is $0.37 per $1,000 of assessed property value. If the resolution is approved by voters, the rate will rise to $0.90 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2024.
Following 2024, the district is also asking the levy increase limit factor to be greater than 4%, or the west region consumer price index for urban areas, but not to exceed 8%, through 2029. The rate wouldn’t exceed the maximum statutory Washington fire district levy rate of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
The resolution states this continual levy increase rate is needed to keep pace with inflation.
Current inflation rates forced both the Chehalis Fire Department and Lewis County Fire District 1 in Onalaska to move on purchases of new fire trucks earlier this year before prices further increased, as previously reported by The Chronicle.
Lewis County Fire Districts 5 and 20 have resolutions on the Aug. 1 primary ballot asking for levy rate increases.
For more information on the upcoming primary and to view the resolution, visit https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov/current-election/.
