Board of Fire Commissioners to discuss fire levy lid lift April 25; public invited to attend and learn more

Revenue from Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue’s fire levy is not keeping up with capital needs, increasing numbers of emergency incidents, and costs to provide service.

The population within the CCFR response area has risen dramatically over the past decade, and so has demand for emergency services. Since 2017, CCFR call volumes have increased more than 40 percent. 

CCFR funds daily operations and capital purchases such as fire engines, ladder trucks, fire stations, and other equipment through a fire levy capped at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value. CCFR has an emergency medical service (EMS) levy at $.47 per $1000 of assessed value that funds paramedic positions and pays for medical equipment and supplies.

In 2017, voters approved a fire levy rate of $1.50. Since then, it has dropped to $1.26. This is called “levy erosion” and impacts the fire district’s ability to provide service. The fire district is limited by state law to just a 1 percent revenue increase per year, while costs to provide emergency services increase nearly 6 percent each year.

CCFR used funding from the 2017 fire levy lid lift to add firefighter positions, reopen a shuttered fire station in Charter Oak, purchase property for a fire station in Ridgefield, purchase four fire engines and a ladder truck, and provide major maintenance on existing fire stations to extend their service life. These actions helped reduce the Washington Survey & Rating Bureau Protection Class Grade for CCFR from a 5 to a 4, thereby allowing for lower fire insurance rates for residents and businesses.

“CCFR has worked hard to use taxpayer dollars efficiently, while increasing the level of safety in our communities,” Fire Chief John Nohr said. “We have amazingly talented firefighters in this organization, but we are struggling to maintain response capability and capital purchases with the current fire levy.”

Commissioners considering a fire levy lid lift

Costs and demand for services are outpacing revenue. CCFR is discussing going to voters this year for a fire levy lid lift. The Board of Fire Commissioners is considering a $0.24 lid lift (from $1.26 to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value) during the August 2024 primary election. The lid lift would fund:

• Maintaining staffing levels of three firefighters at each fire station every day
• Purchase of two fire engines and one water tender
• Complete the construction of a partially built fire station in Woodland
• Initiate construction of a new fire station in west Ridgefield
• Fire station improvements at the Dollars Corner, Fairgrounds, La Center and Charter Oak facilities

The fire levy lid lift would cost the owner of a $500,000 home an additional $10 per month or $120 per year. 

The CCFR Board of Fire Commissioners will discuss placing a levy lid lift on the August ballot at its Thu., April 25 meeting, which the public is invited to attend and learn more. The meeting begins at 4 p.m. at Station 21, located at 911 N. 65^th Avenue in Ridgefield. You can also attend virtually via Zoom. Find the link at www.clarkfr.org.

Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue (CCFR) serves 60,000 people over 125 square miles, including the cities of La Center, Ridgefield, Woodland, and the Cowlitz Indian Reservation. It’s combination department includes full-time and volunteer firefighters responding to an average of 5300 fire and emergency medical calls a year. CCFR operates under a balanced budget and has a history of passing independent financial audits by the state.