There wasn’t a whole lot of discussion Monday night after members of the North Kitsap Herald Advisory Board met with proponents of the Poulsbo Fire Department levy lift. It wasn’t needed.
PFD Chief Jim Shields and commissioners Jim Ingalls and Conrad Green stated their case for a 49 cent increase — bringing the fire tax Poulsbo residents pay from 80 cents in 2008 to $1.29 per $1,000 assessed property valuation — to a T.
The decision was unanimous.
And while members of the board agreed that we as taxpayers are being “nickle and dimed” to death (maybe meeting on April 16 wasn’t the best idea in retrospect), few services out there are as necessary as those provided by our fire department.
As the city’s size increases, so does the demand on thePFD.
The numbers speak for themselves. In 2006, fire and aid services provided by the department saw a 16.33 percent increase. It was the highest raise anywhere in Kitsap County.
The question, as put by Chief Shields, is, “How do we fund our future?”
What does the future hold for the PFD in either case? If the levy is supported, the Surfrest Station would be manned, improving services to the northern reaches of Poulsbo. New equipment could be purchased and the time it takes for personnel to arrive at the scene of an emergency would remain low.
That last part is the bottom line after all. Response time.
When tragedy strikes — anytime in a 24-hour day — and 911 is dialed, the last thing the caller wants to do is wait any longer than is absolutely necessary. The quicker the flashing lights and trained personnel arrive on site, the faster the problem gets resolved.
But keeping what has become a “seamless” system that partners the PFD with emergency management crews throughout Kitsap isn’t easy. Or cheap.
“We have some pretty expensive toys,” Chief Shields explained before he detailed the staggering costs associated with the equipment and vehicles the department relies upon to do its job.
Financing the job is getting more and more difficult though.
Like other junior taxing districts, the PFD had the rug pulled out from underneath it in 2001 when Initiative 747 was passed by state voters, effectively limiting the flow of what was once a fairly steady revenue stream.
With a 1 percent cap on year to year tax revenue increases and facing a $900,000 shortfall in 2008 after going as long as possible at its current level of service before coming the voters, the funding generated by the levy will only be sufficient for five years.
The board agreed that while this isn’t ideal by any means, it is what it is. And even though the taxing system is somewhat broken it doesn’t mean that our support of our fire services should be.
That said, the levy lift deserves our support, unanimous or otherwise.
