Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue levy lift on Aug. 6 ballot to add staff, training

On August 6 voters in Central Kitsap will be asked to approve a fire levy lift for Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue, to help fund the department's plan to add additional firefighter EMTs and paramedics to its workforce and increase training programs to keep up with mounting call volumes for life support and emergency services.

The measure would restore the current property tax rate back to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2024 or up to 6%, whichever is greater, for the next five years. The current levy rate is $1.34 per $1,000 of assessed value, having dropped as property values rose since voters last approved the levy at a rate of $1.50 in 2019. The total amount an agency may collect through the levy is capped at 1 percent growth each year.

CKFR reported that calls have increased 39% over the last six years, with over 68% of those calls being for emergency medical and service calls and predicts the volume will continue to climb in the years to come.

Chief Jason Christian reported that there were 11,384 calls for service in 2023, 218 of which were fires, 7,737 were for EMS, 203 were for hazardous calls and another 3,167 were for other types of calls. Now, the agency is on its way to 11,500 calls, he said.

Growth around central Kitsap County is a primary source for the influx of calls, Christian said. The relocation of St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale has brought more people and more traffic into the urban center, which results in more service calls. On top of that, a wave of new residential developments both single and multifamily, are boosting the population and its need for emergency services, and as the Kitsap County commissioners prepare to increase density in urban centers with their 2024 Comprehensive Plan, Christian says that demand and subsequent number of calls is only going to go up along with the taller buildings.

The fire levy rate will cost the homeowner of a $400,000 home an additional $64 per year, for a total of $600 per year. That increased revenue will be used to fund up to six more firefighters, which will allow CKFR to staff tow new fire stations in Lake Symington and Seabeck, increasing its number of career stations from five to seven. CKFR’s current workforce totals 133 employees, 106 of which are firefighter EMTs and paramedics, Christian said.

The revenue would also be used to replace an aging ambulance, refurbish three fire engines to get another 10 years of service out of them in lieu of replacing them, fund training programs for firefighters and paramedics as well as CKFR’s CARES program which has helped the agency reduce the rate of 911 calls between 60% and 70% for multiple-time callers, Christian said.

Taxpayers are already on the hook for an EMS levy and a capital facility bond for CKFD. Voters approved a levy boost in 2021 from 37 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value up to 50 cents in order to fund EMS and paramedic services, and approved a $58 million capital facility bond in 2020 of 32 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to combine, replace and remodel CKFR’s fire stations and fund other capital improvements like seismic upgrades. The bond, which began collections in 2021, will be paid by taxpayers over 20 years.

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“It was a really big deal for our community, we're extremely grateful for the support, but… we're challenged with our operations and we require the levy lift for our operations,” Christian said. “We cannot use any of that bond money except for on our buildings.”

CKFR has a goal to respond to its most serious calls, such as heart attack and stroke, within eight minutes in suburban areas, by 12 minutes in rural areas, and by 20 minutes in rural areas. The fire agency reported a 90% "turnout time" to those response standards in both 2022 and 2023, according to its 2023 annual response report.

The agency is becoming increasingly challenged to meet those goals, Christian said, and the temporary shuffling of its stations with its capital project underway is only adding to the pressure. With two to three of its stations down at a time, CKFR’s Station 51 in Silverdale is one of the busiest stations in the entire county.

“I think it's understandable that our response numbers have gone up,” Christian said, “but this is why we're working so hard and so fast… to eliminate or to reduce that reduction in service delivery while these station construction programs are going on."

Voters must postmark their ballots by Tuesday, Aug. 6, if sent through the U.S. mail, or drop them off at a county drop-box by 8 p.m. on Aug. 6. Vote centers will also be available the Saturday and Monday before election day, as well as on that Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue levy on August primary election ballot