Fire District 6 sets informational meetings on property tax levy

Clark County Fire District 6 voters will determine whether to continue their property tax levy for the district’s emergency medical services in August’s primary election, and the district will offer two meetings to discuss the levy’s specifics.

District staff encouraged residents to attend one of the presentations — at 10 a.m. Saturday and July 30 at the district’s main station, 8800 N.E. Hazel Dell Ave. — to learn more. Ballots for the August election should start showing up in mailboxes Friday.

Fire District 6 encompasses Hazel Dell, Salmon Creek, Felida, Sherwood, Lake Shore and the Fairgrounds areas. The district is asking voters to renew the district’s emergency services levy, which pays for 24-hour emergency medical response, at its current amount of 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

For a $200,000 home, that adds up to about $90 per year in property taxes for emergency medical services. Voters have approved each EMS levy renewal since 1980, according to the district.

The levy up for a vote specifically pays for emergency medical services, which, like many fire departments, constitutes most of the district’s service calls. Seventy-nine percent of all calls in 2016, as of the end of June, were medical calls, according to the district.

The number of EMS calls has grown 29 percent in the last 10 years, according to the district.

District voters gave an overwhelming “yes” in November to a levy lift to pay for firefighting operations.

The vote increased the district’s levy by about 18 percent, and it was approved with 73 percent of the vote. That vote went to a separate “pot” set aside in the district’s budget, and by law, for firefighting operations, equipment and building needs.

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Correction appended: The article originally misstated the levy rate.