Pierce County fire agency with ‘brownouts,' firefighter vacancies seeks funding

Yahoo

a day ago

After months of temporary station closures, staff vacancies and contentious Q&As, the Key Peninsula Fire Department is again asking voters to pass a ballot measure that would reverse the effects of a failed levy last year.
The measure on the Aug. 5 ballot would raise property taxes for residents back up to 50 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value in 2026, per the Pierce County Voters' Pamphlet. Voters approved that rate in 2019, but property tax laws have caused that rate to drop to 32 cents per $1,000 in assessed value, Fire Chief Nick Swinhart said in a video about the measure posted on the fire district's website.
The measure is called a 'levy lid lift' because it allows jurisdictions to lift the 1% cap on how much more property tax revenue they can collect each year. The 1% cap, mandated by the state, automatically drives down the levy rate each year as property values increase, to ensure that the jurisdiction doesn't collect over 1% more than it collected in the previous year.
It requires a simple majority to pass. If it does, a home valued at $500,000 will pay $250 for the year — an increase of $87.50 from the current rate — or a total of $20.83 per month, per month, according to a chart released by the fire department on social media.
Swinhart said in the video that Key Peninsula Fire crews responded to 2,864 calls last year, over 70% of which 'were medical emergencies, heart attacks, strokes, accidents or serious falls.'
EMS levy funding goes toward these calls, he said. The levy 'supports the paramedics and EMTs who respond to your calls, the ambulances that they drive to the calls, and the equipment that they use,' he explained.
In November 2024, voters turned down a maintenance and operations (M&O) levy that had been approved in each four-year cycle since 2012, The News Tribune reported. In public meetings and town halls following the vote, some residents said they had concerns about the fire department's fiscal management and transparency after the purchase of three parcels in Key Center in 2021. The fire department bought the properties with a low-interest loan rather than drawing on funds from their budget, according to The News Tribune's reporting.
The resulting loss of $800,000 from the failed M&O levy required the department to 'tighten (their) belts,' department spokesperson Anne Nesbit told The News Tribune.
Following the levy failure, a January update from Swinhart posted on the agency's website noted that they left a vacant firefighter position open and reduced their daily minimum staffing from seven to five personnel, which allowed them to save on overtime costs but forced them to occasionally close one of their three staffed stations on days when they didn't have enough firefighters to work shifts.
The Key Peninsula Firefighters Facebook account posted announcements of these temporary closures, or 'brownouts,' of the Longbranch station in January, February, April and May.
If the EMS levy passes, the department will be able to eliminate those brownouts because they'll be able to restore their minimum daily staffing to seven, Nesbit said. They'll also be able to fill four vacant firefighter positions, which she wrote in a text message will bring their total number of firefighters to 33.
At their next meeting on July 22, the Board of Fire Commissioners will consider a resolution to run the EMS levy on the November ballot, in case it doesn't pass in the August primary. If it passes in August, the fire district will 'pull it from the Pierce County docket to run in November,' she said.
Five candidates for the district's Board of Fire Commissioners are also running in the Aug. 5 primary. The top two candidates will advance to the Nov. 4 general election. Whoever wins the general election will replace Cambria Queen, who was selected by the board in 2024 to fill a vacancy following a commissioner's resignation, according to the fire district website.
Several candidates referenced fire district staffing, budgeting or transparency with taxpayer funds in their statements submitted for the Pierce County Voters' Pamphlet. One candidate, Jennifer Dow, did not submit any information for the voters' pamphlet.
'I will maintain the highest level of integrity the public deserves and open up transparency to what our tax dollars are being used for,' Gretchen Schneider, who has served 10 years as a paramedic, wrote. She also believes that commissioners need to 'work alongside the fire department's senior staff, and union to make significant reductions in fire/medical response times while still maintaining the safety and wellness of our first responders.'
Colleen Marie Mullen, a former fire captain serving 22 years in the Minneapolis Fire Department and a U.S. Navy veteran medic, wrote she is 'committed to reducing response times and ensuring our fire stations are adequately staffed to protect and serve effectively.' She also hopes 'to introduce innovative water rescue and high-angle rescue programs, enhancing the safety and preparedness of our department,' she wrote.
'This vital role demands difficult financial decisions regarding staffing, equipment, facilities, and growth – a tall task with limited revenue,' Ed Bressette, Jr., wrote. After 30 years of working for the YMCA, including seven as association facility director, he would draw on 'extensive experience overseeing maintenance, capital projects, budgets, and strategic long-term planning,' he continued.
The News Tribune also reached out to all five candidates for further comment. Only one candidate, Josh Johnson, responded in an email by Friday evening. He wrote that he is 'running to restore public trust in (the) fire district,' and anticipated the need to manage funds from the EMS levy if passed, which he believed likely. His priorities include rebuilding the fire district's volunteer program, increasing transparency around budget decisions, better planning ahead for funding shortfalls and looking for ways to 'reduce costs without compromising core services.'
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