POULSBO — Poulsbo Fire Department Chief Jim Shields found himself in a familiar setting Wednesday night as he spoke at the Poulsbo City Council meeting.

Until 2000, when the fire department became Fire District No. 18, it was one of the city’s departments, competing for its share of the city’s finances.

But with the fire district’s levy lid lift request on the May 15 ballot, Shields wasn’t asking the council and Mayor Kathryn Quade for money, but rather their support for the measure.

At night’s end, he left city hall with a unanimous endorsement from the council and higher hopes for the measure’s approval.

“Thank you very much,” Shields told the council after the vote.

“I would love to see us all be able to say thank you to the voters supporting the levy lift,” Councilman Mike Regis said.

The vote comes days before Viking Fest, so if it is approved, the event would be a great opportunity to show the community how much both the fire district and city support its willingness to pay for emergency services, Regis said.

That support would mean increasing the district’s property tax assessment from 88 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $1.29 per $1,000, Shields said.

Councilman Dale Rudolph asked Shields about the rapid decline in the district’s revenue.

Shields said due to the 1 percent cap on property taxes and the increased growth and assessed value within the district, the rate has actually dropped.

When the fire department separated from the city seven years ago, it received the full $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, but in 2005 that rate dropped to its current level, he said.

“Eighty-three percent of our revenue comes from property taxes,” he said. “About 83 to 84 percent of our expenses are personnel.”

Instead of focusing on the fallout if the levy doesn’t pass, Shields told the council what it can expect when it does.

“With the levy lid lift we are going to staff the Surfrest Station, and we could add up to 12 personnel,” he said.

Currently, the Surfrest Station is staffed by volunteers, but the district is having a difficult time finding enough volunteers to offset the need for additional full-time personnel, he said.

“According to CenCom, we had a 16 percent increase in call volume from 2005 to 2006, which was the highest in the county,” he said. “There are 2,111 homes online in Poulsbo. We are trying to stay ahead of that.”

If the levy lift is successful, district officials are confident the additional funds will meet their needs for the next five years, he said.

If it is not, then the cuts would be made in personnel, he said.

“There is no more fat to cut,” Shields said. “If we cut personnel, we would be moving maybe three to five years backwards.”