The South County Fire Board of Commissioners will hold public hearings Oct. 20 on the regional fire authority’s proposed budget, benefit charge and levies for 2027.
The board meeting begins at 7 p.m. at South County Fire Headquarters, 12425 Meridian Ave. S, Everett. Community members can attend in person or remotely using Zoom to learn more and provide comments. Zoom login instructions are posted on the South County Fire website, www.southsnofire.org/meetings.
The proposed budget is available for review at South County Fire’s website: www.southsnofire.org/budget.
South County Fire is among the lowest-cost fire emergency service providers in all of Snohomish County. Daily emergency operations are primarily funded with a fire levy, an EMS levy and a benefit charge.
The 2027 proposal is a balanced budget that addresses increases in operating costs due to inflation, overtime coverage and other factors including increased insurance and Labor and Industries rates.
“Past fiscal discipline is allowing us to meet these challenges while continuing to deliver the service our residents depend on,” Fire Chief Shaughn Maxwell said.
This budget shifts a higher portion of funding onto the benefit charge instead of property taxes. The benefit charge helps fund emergency services more fairly by considering a building’s size and fire risk, rather than assessed property value.
This means smaller residential homes generally pay less than larger commercial or industrial buildings that require more resources to protect.
Overall, the 2027 funding proposal would increase the average homeowner’s costs by less than $10 per month.
- This budget proposes a property tax levy rate of $1.24 per $1,000 of assessed property value, compared to an approximate rate of $1.16 in 2026. A portion of this change is due to a small drop in assessed values.
- The benefit charge for the owner of a 2,000-square-foot-home would increase from approximately $104 to $178 for the entire year.
The budget includes one-time funding for a proposed efficiency measure to extend the life of apparatus and reduce costs. This would pay for one smaller “squad” vehicle for responses to basic life support calls, brush fires and lower-acuity calls – reducing wear and tear on larger, more expensive units.
South County Fire maintains reserves to replace aging emergency vehicles without additional cost to taxpayers. The price of a fire engine has nearly doubled to $1 million over the last several years. Ladder trucks can now surpass $2 million. Congressional lawmakers have introduced legislation to investigate manufacturing practices that may be contributing to this issue.
In addition to attending the budget, benefit charge and levy hearings in person or via Zoom, comments can also be submitted in advance by email or voicemail to Board of Commissioners Executive Assistant Melissa Blankenship, mblankenship@southsnofire.org, 425-551-1251.
Source: South County Fire
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
