Indianola and Suquamish residents must not ever feel the need to dial 911. At least one might surmise that from their attendance — or lack thereof — this week at informational meetings hosted by North Kitsap Fire & Rescue. Two nights. Two meetings. No public interest.

“People don’t think about us until the second when they pick up the phone and call 911,” said Michéle Laboda, NKF&R Public Information Officer, who explained that low attendance at such events is nothing new.

While NKF&R officials admitted that fliers for the meetings hit a snafu and didn’t get mailed on time, they also pointed out that local media has helped advertise the meetings and done its job to try and educate residents on the district’s upcoming fire protection levy. The group got its largest audience so far Thursday when it met with the North Kitsap Herald Advisory Board.

Our final assessment is two prong:

1) This one needs to pass.

2) NKF&R not only needs to start getting more people at its meetings but it also has got to start explaining not so much what it does for the community — that’s very well known — but rather what it won’t be able to do should this levy go up in flames. Direct questions concerning this issue were answered in roundabout fashion. Not that we felt our friends at the district had anything to hide, but we were confused as to why they weren’t being perfectly blunt in terms of cause and effect. Officials said they didn’t want to appear to be “threatening” the voters with an either/or scenario but we feel if they don’t get a little more assertive with providing such information, the levy could very realistically fail.

The board was told what it would cost the property owner in terms of taxes versus assessed valuation but weren’t told in dollars how it would impact the district. The closest we got to an answer was a comment from Assistant Fire Chief Dan Smith: If you can’t support the budget, you can’t support the manpower.

Basically, less budget means less boots on the street and lower service. How much less is subject to debate.

The passage of Initiative 747 pretty much landed on NKF&R’s means of raising revenue, capping its primary source of funding — property taxes — to 1 percent. The problem is that as property values increase, the allowed levy rate of $1.50 per $1,000 assessed valuation decreases and no longer keeps up with rate of higher costs elsewhere.

“We are impacted more than any agency in the state,” NKF&R Chief Paul Nichol said of I-747 and its correlation to fire districts. “We’re just trying to get back to where we were (prior to I-747).”

Officials did make it very clear that they have done pretty much everything possible to reduce the expense to the community, from mergers and benefits changes to cost cutting measures on equipment and dual qualifications as firefighters/EMTs. But they can only do so much. Costs are rising everywhere and the burden on the system is increasing. Even so, how and where NKF&R can spend its money is limited.

“We don’t have the discretionary funds that private industry has,” explained Smith.

True enough, but the bottom line remains that, “Most people, if you don’t know what it is, they’ll vote against it,” as one advisory board member pointed out.

Right now, we know what the levy’s passage will do: continue the excellent service residents here have come to rely upon. As to what it’s failure would produce, we’re left up to our imagination.

NKF&R officials said they if the ballot measure did fail, they’d have to again try to meet with the public to discuss what services could be reduced and or cut. We think these are the meetings that should be taking place now.

“I don’t enjoy going to the voters and asking for money — I’d rather take a beating,” Nichol said. “I don’t like it. It’s scary.”

It could get even scarier.

Bottom line: These guys and gals are there to help you in your times of need, it’s really only fair to help them in theirs.