In an effort to maintain existing service levels amid rising costs and increasing call volumes, the Riverside Fire Authority is asking voters to approve a levy lid lift in August.
Riverside Fire Authority Proposition No. 1 on the Aug. 6 ballot asks voters to renew its property tax levy at a rate of $1.35 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from the current $1.04 rate, for the next six years.
The difference between the current $1.04 levy rate and $1.35 levy rate would be an increase of $2.61 per month for every $100,000 of assessed value, according to Riverside.
The revenue would be used to improve firefighter staffing, fill positions that support fire and injury prevention, maintain fleet and facility repair schedules, expand and maintain firefighter training and wellness programs, and sustain the agency’s CARES program once the grant funding supporting the program runs out in 2025.
“The idea that we’re going to be able to scale our operation effectively to be able to provide (a) level of service that the community is going to be happy with, there’s no realistic way that can be done without additional funding (and) resources,” said Riverside Fire Chief Kevin Anderson.
If approved, the new rate would take effect in 2025 and permit annual revenue increases of up to 6% for the remaining five years, up to but not exceeding a rate of $1.50, to match revenue to inflationary costs. In 2031, the limit factor would revert back to the regular maximum of 1% per year.
State law prohibits fire authorities from increasing their tax collection rates by more than 1% per year without a request to voters. Since property value increases typically exceed that 1%, fire authority tax rates regularly decrease over time, according to Riverside, which started with a levy rate of $1.50 in 2008 that has since decreased to the current $1.04 rate.
“We were at $1.50, flitting back and forth, $1.49, $1.50, with those property fluctuations pretty much the entire time until about 2020, 2021, when we saw some of the first large scale revaluations,” Anderson said.
Riverside’s levy rate dropped from $1.50 to $1.39 in 2021 and has continued decreasing as property values have continued to rise, according to information presented by Anderson.
The regular 1% annual rate increase has not been enough for Riverside to keep up with inflation and its increasing call volume, according to Anderson.
“Our levy has stayed relatively static in terms of expanding costs throughout the industry and inflation and everything else. It hasn’t allowed us the opportunity to keep pace with those, so we’re essentially being asked to do more with not enough money to do all of the … things that we’re being asked to do,” Anderson said.
If the levy lid lift is passed in August, Riverside said it will use the funds to:
• Restore staffing to 2013 levels with seven firefighters per shift, for a total of 28 career firefighter/emergency medical responders. Riverside currently has 24 career firefighter/emergency medical responders, with some staff planning to retire in the near future.
• Sustain Riverside’s volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention program, which has added 25 volunteers in the 2 years since it was established. Riverside currently has between 60 and 65 volunteer firefighters, who serve in all areas of the fire authority and supplement work done by career firefighters. A federal grant that is currently funding the program sunsets in 2025.
• Restoring the assistant chief/fire marshal position that was eliminated when Chief Mike Kytta retired at the end of 2023. Anderson, who was assistant chief and fire marshal at the time, retained his role when he became fire chief. Re-establishing the position would “give both of those sides the attention that they deserve, fire marshal and the administrative side,” Anderson said.
• Hire a part-time risk reduction specialist and a part-time inspector to better-handle increasing inspection volume and increase public education outreach.
• Sustain a new Community Assistance Referral & Education Services (CARES) program to reduce the impact of high frequency system users by addressing the root causes of their reliance on the 911 system for access to primary care resources. The program was established at Riverside with a 2-year University of Washington grant that expires in 2025.
• Help expand the firefighter training program curriculum.
• Fund future equipment maintenance and replacement, which the district schedules out and allocates money for in advance. Riverside’s next engine replacement is due in 2027, according to Anderson. “We have a plan for asset and equipment replacement, and the funds acquired through Proposition 1 will allow us to maintain that,” Anderson said.
• Continue offering comprehensive health screening to all personnel, career and volunteer, to help prevent cancer-related and other common health issues. Responders will also have access to the mental health tools necessary to adequately process and cope with stress caused by their work.
Should the levy fail, Anderson said Riverside still has an obligation to serve its community, and the fire authority will continue to do so.
“A lot of what we're talking about now is solutions to what we see as problems existing … So we believe we're going to have a realistic impact on the quality of life of our members in the community. If our community is not willing to see that vision that we have, then we still have the obligation to provide service,” Anderson said. “Are we saying that we're going to provide the highest level of service that we could if we had the adequate revenues to be able to do that? Absolutely not. Are we anticipating delays? Potentially, yes.”
For more information about Riverside and its levy proposal, visit https://www.riversidefire.net/ or contact Anderson at kanderson@riversidefire.net or 360-736-3975.
Constituents are also invited to attend Riverside’s Board of Fire Commissioners meetings at 5 p.m. at 1818 Harrison Avenue, Centralia every second and fourth Wednesday of the month.
