TACOMA, Wash. — Proposition 1 in Tacoma, which would increase the Emergency Medical Services Levy in the city from 28 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value to 50 cents per $1,000, is currently passing with 67% of voters opting to approve the lid lift following an updated ballot drop on Thursday.
Additional results will be released in the days after the election as more ballots are counted.
Should the levy pass, the average property owner with a home valued at $493,000 would pay an additional $9.04 per month or an additional $108 per year. The average annual cost for a homeowner with that property valuation would be $246.50 per year.
Tacoma voters previously approved a levy lid lift in 2006, bringing the levy up to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for a time. However, the levy amount has not increased at pace with property values in the city. A state cap limits the fire department to the same amount of revenue per year plus a 1% increase, while the average property value in the city has more than doubled over the last 17 years.
How the money would be used
The levy lift would add about $9 million to the fire department’s annual EMS budget.
The lid lift will help the department keep up with an increase in call volumes and provide quicker service. Call volumes have increased an average of 3.1% per year and increased 14% last year alone. The number of fire department resources like fire engines and ladder trucks has not increased in the last 30 years.
The levy lid lift would be used to hire additional firefighters to add three EMS units to reduce response times and increase capacity citywide, according to the fire department.
Funds from the lift would also go to covering out-of-pocket costs related to ambulance transport that aren't already covered for Tacoma residents. Basic Life Support transport costs would also be funded at a savings of almost $1,000 per resident transport.