Proposal to appear on the November 7, 2023, general election ballot

The Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue Board of Fire Commissioners passed a resolution to place a fire levy lid lift on the November 7, 2023, general election ballot. The lid lift would fund additional personnel to respond to higher call volumes and meet state requirements for search and rescue operations.

“Our call volumes have increased 50 percent in the last 10 years, but our staffing levels have not kept up with our community’s growing demand for emergency services,” Fire Chief Jerry Helm said. “We require additional personnel to reduce response times.”

Central Whidbey relies on full-time, part-time, and volunteer personnel. Volunteers are not always available to respond, resulting in unpredictable staffing levels. This leads to longer response times that can seriously affect survival rates.

If approved by voters, the fire levy lid lift will fund four additional firefighters/EMTs to provide both a fire engine and Basic Life Support ambulance in service at the same time, which will reduce response times and improve service reliability across the district. The additional personnel are also needed to meet state requirements to allow for interior search and rescue operations to begin without having to wait for another fire engine to arrive on scene.

The fire district is asking voters to change the fire levy from $0.86 per $1,000 of assessed property value to $1.18. The $0.32 lid lift would cost an additional $13.33 per month or $160 per year for the owner of a $500,000 home.

More information about Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue can be found at www.cwfire.org. Fire Chief Jerry Helm also welcomes your questions at [email protected] and 360-678-3602.

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Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue provides fire and life safety services to 9,000 people over 50 square miles north of Mutiny Bay and south of Libbey Road. The fire district relies on full-time, part-time, and volunteer emergency personnel who responded to more than 1,700 calls in the last two years, of which 60 percent are for emergency medical service (EMS). Firefighters are highly trained to provide services for fire suppression and prevention, EMS, technical rescues, hazardous material spills, auto extrication, and life safety programs. Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue operates under a balanced budget and has passed all its financial and accountability audits by the state.