Whatcom EMS levy seeks same tax rate, but it will cost property owners more. Here’s why
Whatcom County voters are being asked to renew a property tax for emergency medical services at the same rate as the original measure, which passed with a 60% supermajority in 2016.
But renewing the levy at the allowable rate of 29.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation will mean increased taxes, because property owners are currently being charged only 19.9 cents per $1,000.
That’s why opponents of the measure are calling it a hidden tax hike, and it will cost the owner of a $500,000 house about $50 more a year, increasing their EMS tax from $97.50 to $147.50.
“The EMS levy doesn’t need a 50% increase,” said Todd Lagastee and Laurie Williams in the ballot statement against the proposal.
“Demanding a 50% tax increase, when many families are struggling and housing is unaffordable, isn’t good government,” Lagastee and Williams said.
But officials who operate the county’s EMS system are seeking to expand its services and reimburse local fire departments and fire protection districts for some of their costs — and that’s why the higher tax rate is being sought.
This time around, the EMS levy needs only a simple majority to pass — 50% plus one vote.
It’s being supported by County Executive Satpal Sidhu and the mayors of the county’s seven cities.
It received unanimous approval from the Bellingham City Council and was placed on the ballot by the County Council on a 4-3 vote, with the three dissenting council members seeking levy renewal at a lower rate.
“When you call 911 with a medical emergency, you expect the ambulance to come as quickly as possible. To maintain the county’s rapid, effective service, we must vote yes for the EMS levy on the ballot. Our EMS program saves lives,” said Lynden Mayor Scott Korthuis in a letter signed by Sidhu and the other mayors that was emailed to The Bellingham Herald.
How it works
Emergency medical services, including ambulance transports, are provided by fire departments and fire-protection districts across Whatcom County.
Those firefighter-EMTs can help patients who are sick or injured but don’t need advanced medical interventions, such as medications, an IV or cardiac monitoring.
They are supplemented by the firefighter-paramedics of Bellingham Fire Department’s Medic One, which staffs four advanced life-support ambulances and sends more highly trained crews to 911 calls where the patient is critically sick or injured.
A fifth medic unit, which was promised as part of the 2016 EMS levy, is set to begin operating in Lynden before the end of the year, Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Hewett told city officials in presentations last summer.
In addition to staffing the fifth medic unit, the new levy would support two more teams in the Community Paramedic program, which pairs a medic and a social worker to help people who frequently call 911 for basic health care.
It also would provide $1.5 million annually to fire protection districts to help those smaller departments in outlying areas of the county — many of them staffed by volunteer firefighters — pay for their basic ambulance services.
In his ballot statement supporting the measure, RobRoy Graham, a member of the EMS Oversight Board, said the levy is ”essential” to maintaining the current level of pre-hospital emergency care.
“Over the past six years, the EMS system has seen an increased demand of 24.3% in responses. The continued rise of expectations has overtaxed the system resulting in a decline of available resources,” said Graham, who is also a commission for Fire Protection District 14, serving Kendall, Sumas and Welcome.
But County Councilman Ben Elenbaas, who voted against placing the measure on the ballot, said that it was unwise to expand services at a time of economic distress and uncertainty.
“I almost feel like we’re shooting for the moon instead of asking for what we need,” Elenbaas said July 26.
EMS officials have said in recent government meetings that the system has enough funds to continue for one year if the levy fails.
This story was originally published October 26, 2022 at 12:02 PM.
