Whatcom considers lower EMS tax levy rate, Bellingham balks at its endorsement
Bellingham City Council balked this week at endorsing a renewal of the Whatcom County emergency medical services levy for the November ballot, citing a reduced tax rate under consideration by the Whatcom County Council and changes to language about equity, diversity and inclusion.
Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Hewett said that while the countywide EMS system and its various fire departments are committed to equality in hiring employees and treating patients, some of the changes that the County Council approved at its June 21 meeting might conflict with current union contracts.
“I think that’s something that we can easily find common ground to satisfy,” Hewett told the City Council at a June 27 committee meeting.
But most importantly, Hewett said the reduced tax rate that the County Council introduced for consideration last week is below the amount needed to continue providing ambulances staffed with firefighter-paramedics and other medical services to all areas of Whatcom County.
“There would just not be enough funding in there for us to be able to move forward with the services that we’re (providing) today and the plan for next year,” Hewett said.
Whatcom County Council members voted 4-2-1 last week to introduce the levy measure at a rate of 19.9 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation for discussion at their July 12 meeting, with Barry Buchanan and Todd Donovan opposed and Kaylee Galloway abstaining.
That’s the current levy tax rate, but members of a committee that has been working for two years to craft a new EMS levy and decide which services it would provide had requested a renewal at the original rate of 29.5 cents per $1,000.
“We’re recommending that you not pass the resolution today to give us time to work with the county to address that issue,” Mayor Seth Fleetwood asked the Bellingham City Council.
At issue is a proposed renewal of a six-year EMS levy, which 60% of Whatcom County voters approved in 2016, when the measure required a supermajority because it was a new tax.
It taxed Whatcom County property owners at a rate of 29.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or $147.50 for the owner of a $500,000 home.
Levy assessments were set so that property tax collections met the proposed budget for 2017, the first year of the levy, said Jed Holmes, spokesman for County Executive Satpal Sidhu.
Current rate of the EMS levy is 19.9 cents per $1,000, because more money is being collected as valuations rose and more real estate was developed over the life of the first levy, Holmes said.
So a lower tax rate was required each year to raise funds needed for EMS services.
Holmes said the county EMS Council was asking for a renewal of the initial levy at its original rate of 29.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation based on their plans and likely costs for the next six years, 2023-2028.
A renewal at the original rate or lower would require a simple majority of Whatcom County voters — 50% plus one vote.
But when the County Council introduced a measure last week to place the levy renewal on the Nov. 8 election ballot, it was at the 19.9 cent rate.
“I don’t think we need to put a 33% increase on the ballot for EMS this year. That would be a 33% increase to go from about 20 (cents per $1,000 of valuation) to about 30,” Councilwoman Kathy Kershner said.
“Everybody will vote for EMS because it’s a good thing to vote for, but I think we have a responsibility to make sure we aren’t raising taxes on individuals unnecessarily here,” Kershner said.
Full discussion and a vote is scheduled for the County Council’s July 12 session.
Action must be taken by Aug. 2, the deadline for submitting documents to the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office, which conducts local elections.
State law requires cities larger than 50,000 people must give their consent toward a countywide ballot, so Bellingham’s support is essential.
Hewett said the levy pays for four countywide paramedic ambulances staffed around the clock daily by firefighter-paramedics, plus an EMS captain to supervise daily and assist units in the field as needed.
It also funds training of new paramedics and the EMS portion of the countywide Community Paramedic Program that sends three teams of medics and social workers to assist patients who frequently call 911 for simple medical needs.
Under the 2023-2028 EMS levy plan, two more Community Paramedic teams would be added.
A fifth paramedic ambulance is nearly ready to start operating this year in Lynden, Hewett said.
Firefighter-paramedics are sent to the most serious EMS calls, where patients are suffering a critical medical emergency that could kill them within an hour if left untreated.
Less serious medical calls are handled by firefighter-EMTs — emergency medical technicians who can assess the seriousness of a patient’s illness or injury, bandage wounds, and perform CPR, among other skills.
But a paramedic is a firefighter-EMT with extra training who can start an intravenous line and give medication to begin treatment while the ambulance is racing to the hospital.
