SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane County voters will decide on more than a dozen tax measures affecting schools and public safety.
Many of the measures are replacement levies, meaning they renew temporary levies that expire soon.
For schools, levies often help pay for building maintenance, security improvements and after-school programs that the state does not fund. In the Spokane Public School District, the replacement levy provides about 15 percent of the district’s operating budget.
“The dollar amount increases with inflation, so as assessed value goes up across the community, the dollar amount increases with that inflation,” said Adam Swinyard, Superintendent of Public Instruction for the district. “But the rate stays at that $2.50 mark, which is what was on the ballot last time.”
Ballots show each levy’s cost per $1,000 of assessed value. For a home valued at $400,000, the estimated annual cost for each district on the ballot is:
East Valley School District: about $396Riverside School District: about $632Spokane and Central Valley school districts: about $1,000Cheney School District : about $900 (includes two levies) West Valley School District: about $1,400 (includes two levies) Nine Mile Falls School District: about $992(two levies)
Multiple Spokane County fire districts also ask voters to renew or raise property taxes for services.
Fire District 2, covering Fairfield, asks voters to renew equipment funding at 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $200 a year for a homeowner with an assessed property value of $400,000
Fire District 3 seeks a six-year emergency medical services levy to add staff as calls climb. Cody Rohrbach, of Spokane County Fire District 3, said the district runs more than 3,500 emergencies a year.
“What is going on today, is those two staff stations are leaving their primary service areas to cover other parts,” Rohrbach said.
Spokane County Fire District 9 asks voters to approve a levy increase and a bond measure to modernize facilities and expand staffing. Fire Chief Matt Vinci said call volume rises about 10 percent each year.
“Our most valuable resources in fire district 9 is our human resources and if we don’t have the right amount of firefighters on equipment and equipment staff then we can’t answer the call everyday,” Vinci said.
If both measures pass, the average homeowner in the district would pay an additional $624 a year.
Fire District 11, serving Rockford, asks voters to approve an EMS levy at $0.35 per $1,000. Fire District 12, serving Latah and Waverly, asks voters to approve a levy at $0.50 per $1,000.
Election officials urge voters to use white ballot drop boxes rather than the postal service to make sure ballots arrive on time.
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