Clark County Fire District 3 is preparing for good times or bad. The fire district, which serves 40,000 people, is considering asking voters to approve a fire levy lid lift in November. If they decide to go to ballot, the Board of Fire Commissioners want residents to know they have a plan in place whether the measure passes or fails.
“We will be prepared for either outcome,” said Fire Chief Steve Wrightson. “We are grateful for the funding we are given and will always do the best job possible within budget.”
Wrightson says that the fire district is just in the planning phase now for the levy lid lift. There will be a lengthy public process for the community to provide input about what’s being proposed. The fire district will hold two public hearings on the lid lift resolution and contingency plan this summer before voting whether or not to go to ballot this fall.
If the lid lift were to pass, Fire District 3 plans to use the funding to maintain emergency service levels and its insurance rating, which impacts homeowner insurance premiums. Since 2007, emergency calls have increased almost 40 percent in the fire district alone (approximately four percent per year), as have costs for apparatus and facilities maintenance, equipment and supplies, and personnel. In contrast, the fire district is limited to a 1 percent revenue increase per year by state law.
Fire District 3 has been supplementing the cost of daily operations with emergency reserves for the past few years, which is no longer sustainable. Response times are starting to increase, which could downgrade the fire district’s insurance rating and cause premiums to rise for businesses and homeowners.
“We’re ahead of this before it becomes a problem,” said Chief Wrightson. “That’s why we’re working so hard to educate our community about the situation.”
Wrightson says that part of being in emergency services is being prepared for any situation. If the lid lift fails, Fire District 3 would borrow money to replace or maintain facilities, apparatus, and equipment. However, this would cost taxpayers more because of interest payments. It also would reduce firefighter staffing levels by not filling vacant positions when people leave or retire. This would cause emergency response times to increase because there would be fewer personnel and resources to respond.
The levy lid lift would last for six years and be 13-cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, or an additional $4.33 per month ($52 per year) for a property valued at $400,000. Fire District 3’s levy rate has fallen to $1.29 per $1,000 in 2017. The lid lift would return the levy to $1.42 per $1,000, which was the amount in 2016.
