Randy Pennington worked in Lewis County’s 911 communications center from 1983 to 1991 as a dispatcher and the center’s director.
Even 40 years ago, Pennington told the Lewis County Fire Commissioners Association on Monday night, the 911 center’s lack of funding “haunted” the county.
Currently, the center is funded by user fees. Users, in this case, are first responders. Often, the funds for those fees and other fire department operations are collected through property tax levies.
In July, the Lewis County commissioners approved adding a ballot initiative to the November election proposing to fund the 911 center with a sales tax of two cents on every $10. The initiative has support from the City of Centralia, the Fire Chiefs Association, the 911 Communications Combined User Committee for Lewis County. Some Chehalis City Councilors have been reluctant to sign a letter of support for the initiative.
Between Washington’s minimum sales tax, 6.5%, and the county’s, 1.3%, unincorporated county residents currently pay a 7.8% sales tax, according to the Department of Revenue for Washington state. Some cities also collect a percentage. Sales tax rates in Centralia and Chehalis are currently 8.2%, according to the Department of Revenue’s sales tax rate search tool.
As the former 911 director, Pennington spoke in support of the sales tax on Monday, noting that it would charge shoppers and tourists, unlike levies, which only tax property owners.
“Why should the citizens of Lewis County be forced to pay for the whole system when you have a higher percentage of the calls … (coming from) people from Oregon, Florida. They’re coming all through here, they’re not paying a dime for the system,” Pennington said. “This is a way to help them pay for the system.”
In an interview early this month, Lewis County Commissioner Scott Brummer, who represents east county, said the initiative was first proposed “well over a decade” ago.
“It has taken a great deal of effort to get to the point where folks are in agreement,” Brummer said, later adding, “Those that are not (in support of the tax), it’s not because they don’t believe the 911 system needs this money. They do. They’re concerned that if we have a 911 tax, it may limit their ability to get levies and future funding.”
Brummer said he understood that concern, especially for rural fire districts, but said the sales tax, if passed, could allow law enforcement and fire departments to put user fee dollars toward equipment, staffing or other operations.
The county commissioners have the authority to put a sales tax to the voters without approval from other taxing districts or organizations, but Brummer said he’s “hopeful” that, by November, the initiative will have support from a “majority” of the cities.
“It’s an effort to have, basically, one voice. A unified voice,” Brummer said.
Brummer noted in Monday’s meeting with the Lewis County Fire Commissioners Association that he was speaking in support of the initiative as a citizen, but that the capital “C” County will only provide fact-based informational packets. The commissioners are currently working to find a Political Action Committee to support the tax and head up campaigning and distributing information.
The commissioners aren’t allowed to use county resources to campaign, Brummer noted Monday, which has delayed the commissioners’ ability to get out a fact sheet for voters.
Lewis County Fire District 6 Commissioner Jim Martin said he would be happy to provide, “neutral,” information-only resources to help constituents, and felt the other commissioners in Monday’s meeting would appreciate doing the same.
According to previous Chronicle interviews with former Lewis County Manager Erik Martin, decades of underfunding the 911 center has resulted in overworked staff and infrastructure.
In a previous Lewis County Fire Commissioners Association meeting, a former Mossyrock firefighter described running up hills while responding to calls in order to get out of 911 radio dead zones.
“We are very short handed,” Erik Martin said in a story from July of 2022. “There are times that we have less-than-optimal (staff levels). What typically happens is they’re working overtime. They’re really working hard and being troopers about it but … it’s a really tough job.”
