Grays Harbor Fire District #2 asks voters to lift levy lid

Voters within the confines of Fire District #2 are considering a Fire Levy Lid Lift on their General Election Ballots, and the district has scheduled a virtual meeting to share information to voters..

The local fire district issued a press release regarding the proposition on the November 3 ballot, 

They say that their regular fire levy has continued to decrease since the last voter-approved measure ended. 

The last measure approved in 2011 set the rate at a $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. 

Since then the rate has dropped to $1.27 per $1,000 of assessed value. 

If approved by voters, the fire levy rate would return to $1.50 per $1,000. This is called a fire levy “lid lift.” It would last for one year and the levy rate would start to decrease again. The rate can never exceed the voter approved rate of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Funding from the fire levy supports Fire District operations on a day-to-day basis and maintains emergency service levels. 

This includes funding such things as personnel, training, apparatus (fire engines and ambulances), equipment and firefighting and medical supplies.

Funding for these items is essential to delivering services and maintaining fire insurance rating levels. 

Levy rates fall as property values increase limiting the Fire District to roughly the same amount of revenue per year plus a 1% increase. The 1% increase has not kept up with increasing call volumes or the cost of inflation which is around 3.1% for the area.

The fire levy provides most of the funding to provide emergency services for residents and businesses in Fire District 2, which includes Central Park, Brady, the Wynoochee Valley, and unincorporated areas surrounding Montesano. 

Grays Harbor Fire District No. 2 will be hosting a virtual public meeting to answer questions about the upcoming Fire Levy Lid Lift on the November 3, 2020 ballot. 

This meeting will be held on October 26 at 6:00 p.m.

Community members with questions about the levy are invited and encouraged to attend. 

Please visit www.ghfd2.org for the date and time.