SOAP LAKE — Voters in Grant County Fire District 7, which includes the city of Soap Lake, will decide the fate of a proposal to increase the rate of the district’s property tax levy for fire service in the general election Nov. 7.

The “levy lid lift” would set the levy rate at $1.30 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The current rate is 56 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. The levy needs a bare majority, 50% plus one vote, to be approved. 

The district also collects an EMS levy of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, and Fire District 7 Chief Chris Baker said the EMS levy would no longer be collected if the levy lid lift is approved. 

Baker said the money would go to building maintenance and equipment upgrades that have been deferred.

“Currently we have three fire stations and all of them need extensive work,” Baker said. “It’s going to go into equipment replacement. The average age of our equipment is 43 years old. That’s fire engines.”

The district’s personal protective equipment, such as its self-contained breathing apparatus, is so old it’s no longer usable, Baker said. Fire district personnel are using borrowed PPE as a result, he said. 

If the proposal passes, a property owner with property valued at $250,000 would pay $375 per year in taxes. A property owner with property valued at $300,000 would pay $450 per year. 

Baker said district officials plan to use the money to improve what they already have. 

“What we’re not looking to do, we’re not looking to build a new fire station. We’re not looking to buy a brand new fire engine, because those are not practical ways of using taxpayer’s money. We just need to upgrade our fleet to more modern times, and we also need to repair the facilities that we have. So they can last for years to come,” Baker said.

Even if the increase is approved, the levy wouldn’t generate the kind of money needed for new equipment or facilities, he said.

“There would be no way, even with this levy lid lift, that we’d be able to afford new fire engines and new fire stations,” Baker said. “It’s just totally out of the question.”

Fire District 7 has two stations and a maintenance facility. Station 1 and the maintenance shop are buildings repurposed for other uses. The maintenance facility needs a new roof and electrical upgrades, among other things, Baker said. Station 1, near Soap Lake, is the district’s main station and also needs electrical upgrades and remodeling, including repairs to its concrete floors, which were not designed to accommodate fire engines. 

Distinct officials also want to replace fire equipment, starting with a water tanker, called a tender, that was manufactured in 1974.

“It’s older than I am,” he said. “It will be 50 years old next year.”

Much of the district’s equipment is old enough that it makes it more difficult to fight fires. 

“Our largest issue is being able to provide the needed water supply, especially in our rural areas,” Baker said.

While Soap Lake city officials are working on solutions, at the moment the city water system also presents some challenges when fighting fires.

“We really don’t have any control over that, other than just bringing more water to a fire within the city limits,” Baker said.

District officials have been applying for grants, he said, and have been successful with some of them. However, grant funding is only available for specific projects.

“There’s a lot of areas, like maintenance for our facilities, (where) you can’t find grants for that,” he said. “You may be able to be successful on a very competitive fire apparatus grant. However, that’s one piece of equipment. We have multiple stations and multiple pieces of equipment.”

He cited the district’s recent acquisition of two pieces of military equipment as an example. Fire District 7 received a grant to help with the conversion, but it’s not enough to pay for the entire project, he said. 

The district is an all-volunteer service, he said, and it’s easier to attract and keep volunteers with adequate equipment.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached via email at [email protected].