SEQUIM – Officials for Clallam County’s Fire District 3 want to ask voters to approve a levy lift in November. To that end, the public is encouraged to participate in a meeting with the Board of Fire Commissioners at 1:00 p.m. on July 3 at fire district headquarters in Sequim. The Board could vote on the resolution that afternoon or continue deliberations until its meeting on July 17.
The fire district has been communicating with the public for the past year about its challenges to maintain emergency service levels. It will have to draw down reserve accounts next year just to respond to call volumes, which have climbed 33 percent in the past seven years.
Voters originally approved a general levy of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2004. Since that time, the levy rate has fallen to $1.26.
The Board of Fire Commissioners will consider asking voters to return the levy to $1.50. The lid lift would be an additional $60 per year for the owner of a home assessed at $250,000.
More information about the levy lid lift can be found on the fire district website at ccfd3.org.