Whatcom council reverses course on EMS tax ballot measure
Whatcom County is now considering a ballot measure asking voters to renew a property tax for emergency medical services at 29.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation or less, the rate set when the measure was approved with a 60% supermajority in 2016.
But the vote on Tuesday, July 12, was split 4-3, with council members Kathy Kershner, Ben Elenbaas and Tyler Byrd voting against placing the measure on the Nov. 8 ballot because they want the levy to remain at its current rate of 19.9 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
They said the renewal measure was a hidden tax hike, and feared that voters would reject the EMS levy amid recent high inflation and the possibility of a global recession.
“I almost feel like we’re shooting for the moon instead of asking for what we need,” Elenbaas said in a Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday.
Tuesday’s vote advanced an amended version of the EMS ballot measure that was introduced June 27 at the 19.9 cent rate by a vote of 4-2-1, with council members Barry Buchanan and Todd Donovan opposed and Kaylee Galloway abstaining.
Galloway and Councilwoman Carol Frazey voted with the majority on Tuesday, saying they now support the original levy rate of 29.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
But Frazey acknowledged concerns that the measure could fail because taxpayers are worried about the rising cost of gas, food, rent and other necessities.
“I feel the same way as Councilwoman Kershner,” Frazey said. “People are struggling right now and I hope this passes. Let’s let the voters decide.”
Frazey and Galloway had also sought stronger language ensuring that countywide fire departments and other agencies that are part of the EMS system will focus on equity, diversity and inclusion in their hiring practices.
They are satisfied that the levy proposal now contains such guarantees, they said.
Because the measure was amended Tuesday from the version that the County Council approved June 27, it was moved forward as an “introduction item” and will face another discussion and vote when the panel meets Tuesday, July 26.
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.
A renewal at the original rate or lower would require a simple majority of Whatcom County voters — 50% plus one vote.
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 property valuations have risen since 2016 and more real estate has been developed over the life of the levy, Holmes said.
So a lower tax rate was required each year to raise the funds budgeted for EMS services and keep a reserve balance equal to one year’s funding.
Holmes said the county EMS Council was asking for a renewal of the levy at its original rate of 29.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation or less, based on their plans and projected costs for the next six years, 2023-2028.
It’s likely that the levy rate will decline over the life of the proposed new levy for the same reasons that it has declined since 2016.
Another discussion and a vote are scheduled for the County Council’s July 26 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 to give their consent toward a countywide ballot, so the Bellingham City Council must vote to support the measure when it meets July 25.
Bellingham council members discussed the proposed EMS levy when they met June 26 and again on Monday, July 11.
But they took no action on the advice of Bellingham Fire Department Chief Bill Hewett.
Hewett told the council that the 19.9 cent rate was inadequate to sustain the countywide EMS system, which consists of the Medic One paramedic ambulance service, fire departments and volunteer fire-protection districts, and other health-care providers.
EMS Manager Mike Hilley 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 the 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 set to start operating this year in Lynden, Hilley 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, according to earlier reporting in The Bellingham Herald.
Less serious medical calls are handled by firefighter-EMTs — emergency medical technicians who can assess the severity 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.
Also included in the levy renewal is about $1.5 million annually in payments to countywide fire departments for their basic life support ambulance responses.
This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 10:05 AM.
