KINGSTON — With the latest proposed tax-cutting initiatives waiting to hit the November ballot, as well as the previously voter-approved property tax limiting initiatives, fire department officials are wondering whether necessary funding will go up in smoke in the next few years.
In hopes of averting this, North Kitsap Fire & Rescue is looking at how it can work with other fire agencies to become more economical and still able to provide high quality service.
While NKF&R already works closely with its neighbors at the Poulsbo Fire Department, officials are reevaluating their relationships with agencies across the Hood Canal — namely Jefferson County Fire District #1 and Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue.
“Financially, (Initiative 747) has had an impact on us,” said NKF&R Fire Chief Paul Nichol.
Initiative 747, which was approved by voters in 2001, limits budget increases to 1 percent over the previous year. He also noted that I-864 (which proposes to cut property taxes by 25 percent) could hurt the agency as well if it goes on the ballot and is approved this November. Property tax funds make up about 90 percent of NKF&R’s annual revenue.
And with inflation increasing at about 3 percent a year, Nichol and the Jefferson County fire districts are looking at ways to pool their resources to help extinguish some costs.
“It’s not that we are going to anticipate trucks (going over the bridge) every day,” Nichol said, noting that it’s not been uncommon for all three to support each other as they have over the years. North currently maintains PLF&R’s apparatus while Jefferson County provides extra breathing apparatus resources for NKF&R when it responds to a larger than usual blaze.
All three districts operate the same way and on the same shift schedule. In the 1980s, NKF&R provided paramedic services to Port Ludlow before all three joined forces to develop a paramedic program in 1997 for the two Jefferson County fire agencies.
Now, the commissioners have directed each of their staffs to review how the agencies can further pool their resources. For example, PLF&R doesn’t have a public information officer but they have “excellent training,” Nichol said. The agencies can also work together conducting fire code inspections and investigations.
NKF&R Commissioners have asked for a report on the options from their staff by the end of April.
