Finances for fire district annexation to be discussed at Othello council workshop
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months, 1 week AGO
Othello residents are being invited to a workshop Aug. 10 on a proposal to annex the city into Adams County Fire District 5.
COURTESY PHOTO/ADAMS COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT 5
Annexation into Adams County Fire District 5, rather than contracting with ACFD 5 for fire services, will be the subject of an Othello City Council workshop Aug. 10.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | July 29, 2026 3:15 AM
OTHELLO — Othello residents are being invited to a workshop at 5 p.m. Aug. 10 to discuss finance options available to the city if a proposal to annex the city into Adams County Fire District 5 is approved.
Mayor Ken Johnson said that if an annexation is approved, the way Othello residents pay for their fire services will change, which means the Othello City Council must make some decisions.
“That’s what I’m hoping is the main subject of our discussion,” Johnson said.
As of now, the city has a contract with ACFD 5, which expires in April 2027. The contract commits the city to a vote on annexation.
“The city intends to place a measure on the ballot in April 2027 asking the voters to approve annexation into the fire district, with an effective date of July 30, 2027,” according to the contract.
Fire District 5 Chief Tom Salsbury said in a media release that annexation also would have to be approved by ACFD 5 residents.
If the annexation is approved, the levy rate for Othello residents would increase to 90 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. Previously residents paid the equivalent of 65 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, but that was raised to 90 cents per $1,000 of assessed value in the new contract. That assessment is included in their city property taxes.
The current property tax levied by the city is $2.26 per $1,000 of assessed value. Johnson said that’s the maximum the city can collect.
Residents would pay 90 cents for fire services to the fire district, not the city, if the annexation is approved. What would happen to the 90 cents that’s collected by the city is among the subjects to be discussed by council members Aug. 10.
Othello has had a contract with ACFD 5 for fire services for about 25 years. It was set to expire at the end of April, and negotiations for an updated contract started in 2024. Ultimately council members turned down a proposal from the fire district in August 2024, reached after mediation.
The makeup of the council changed after the 2025 election and Johson was elected as mayor. After the election, council members changed their minds about the ACFD 5 contract and negotiated a new one.
That contract, like the previous ones, is paid out of the city’s general fund. Since Othello residents would pay money directly to ACFD 5 for fire services, city officials and council members are trying to decide what to do with the 90 cents collected by the city for fire services. They have the option to return all or part of it to Othello residents.
“We need to take a look at reducing what we collect as the city,” Johnson said.
Council members have discussed how much, if any, of that money they want to return to city residents. They considered keeping some of that money to help pay part of the cost of rebuilding the Othello Community Pool, Johnson said, but ultimately decided against it.
Council members are discussing returning 65 cents to Othello residents and keeping 25 cents. Because the cost of the existing ACFD 5 contract increased, city officials had to find money to pay for it in the city budget, Johnson said. It came out the funding for other city operations, and Johnson said the goal is to restore that funding to the departments that lost it.
“We’re hoping to keep the 25 cents,” Johnson said.
Annexation into Adams County Fire District 5, rather than contracting with ACFD 5 for fire services, will be the subject of an Othello City Council workshop Aug. 10.ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
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