Staff report

South Kitsap Fire and Rescue will ask voters April 28 to renew a property tax levy for emergency medical services for another six years.

On Jan. 22, SKFR fire commissioners approved a resolution to place an EMS measure on the April 28 ballot. Also on the ballot: a similar measure from the Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue.

Ballots must be postmarked April 28, or deposited into a ballot dropbox by 8 p.m. that day. See PortOrchardIndependent.com for Election Night results.

The current levy, which expires Dec. 31, is 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation annually for South Kitsap property owners. The EMS levy covers for staffing paramedics and emergency medical technicians, equipment and supplies.

SKFR serves more than 72,046 residents in a 117-square-mile area. In 2014, SKFR responded to 9,068 calls for service, an average of more than 24 calls per day from the 911 system. Medical-related responses totaled 6,157, 68 percent of SKFR’s calls.

“We are having to put it back our there because it provides a component of our funding,” SKFR Fire Chief Steve Wright told the Independent in January. “It’s at 50 cents and we are asking to keep it at 50 cents for the next six years.”

A simple majority is required to pass the levy. SKFR’s current levy was last approved in 2009.

Wright said the EMS levy is 25 percent of the district’s tax collection. But, “70 percent of our work is medical emergencies,” he said.

With the $1.50 fire levy and 50-cent EMS levy, the owner of a $200,000 home would pay approximately $400 a year for SKFR services.

Wright said the EMS levy would generate about $3.5 million per year.

Ballot dropbox locations:

nKitsap Regional Library, 1301 Sylvan Way, Bremerton.

nNorm Dicks Government Center, 345 6th St., Bremerton.

nKitsap County Auditor Elections Division, 619 Division St., Port Orchard.

nPoulsbo Fire Station, 911 N.E. Liberty Road, Poulsbo.

nCentral Kitsap School District, Administration Building, 9210 Silverdale Way N.W., Silverdale.