La Pine Fire District puts new 5-year operating levy on May ballot to add staff, keep up with rising calls

(Update: Adding video, comments from assistant fire chief, board director)

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The La Pine Rural Fire District has placed a new five-year operating levy up for a vote on the May election ballot. Its property tax rate has not changed in a quarter-century, but officials say they need more funding to add staff and keep up with fast-rising demand.

La Pine Fire's proposed new levy would charge 64 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. A home worth $200,000 would pay another $11 a month. The existing levy, at the same property tax rate, is set to expire next year, and the fire district says it will seek its renewal then as well. 

The fire district said it's seen emergency calls rise 56% over the past decade.

Fire District Board Director Robin Adams said Tuesday it's just another sign of how much La Pine has grown. 

"Our district is just growing gangbusters," Adams said. "Our population has increased over 7,000 people in the last year or two."

Their tax rate of $0.64 per $1,000 of assessed value has not changed in 25 years. 

"Despite a lot of hard work by our chief and various board members in the past to raise grants, funds and try to provide adequate service for our district, we just were not keeping up," Adams said.

  The new levy seeks an additional $0.64 per $1,000 from property owners.

"We are placing a new levy on the ballot for May of 2023," Dan Daugherty, assistant fire chief said. "New operations level levy for additional staffing." 

It'll support the addition of nine firefighter-paramedics.

"It'll put those folks, on shifts, on streets to answer the calls," Daugherty said.

"We are tasked with keeping up with those alarms," he added. "We have not been able to do so. There are calls that we have not been able to respond resources to because we have been committed to other alarms, and we don't as an organization want that for our community."

Adams said, "I'm hopeful that the voters will understand that we are not asking for more money to be frivolous with. We're asking for more money to continue providing excellent service for the people in our district. It's actually less money than Bend is asking for in their levy or than Cloverdale got in their levy last year."

 The fire district also will be asking to renew their existing levy next year.

"We are very thankful to our community members, and we are very encouraged and hopeful that they will see the need of the district," Daugherty said. "Our community has always supported the district in the past." 

La Pine Fire said its medical trips to Saint Charles Bend have doubled in just the past three years. Nearly 200 times last year, they had no crews left in the district to respond to emergency calls.

--

Here's a fire district news release on the levy, issued Tuesday:

La Pine Fire District Board Seeks New Local Operations Levy

This measure will allow the District to hire the staffing required to meet the emergency needs of this fast-growing community. Emergency calls have increased 56% over the past decade. Paramedic transports to the hospital in Bend, which take fire/EMS crews out of the District for more than 2 hours, have doubled in the past 3 years. Over 600 times in 2022, the District responded to 2 or more concurrent emergency calls.  In 183 cases, there were no crews within the District to respond to emergency calls.

Current levy amounts have not changed since 1998 and are set to renew in 2024, with voter approval.  This new local operations levy will add up to 9 new firefighter/paramedics, providing an additional crew to respond to emergencies 24/7.

The tax will be $0.64/$1000 assessed property valuation.  A home valued at $200,000 would pay $128 per year ($10.66/month).  Estimated annual tax received by the District would be $1,379,698.

This levy, in combination with other taxes and fees, will provide essential funds that would:

• Increase Fire / EMS staffing from 2 to 3 crews, available 24/7
• Reduce response times, especially during times of multiple  

           emergency calls for service

• Assure that effective firefighting forces remains within the

           community, even during times of multiple transports to Bend

           hospital.

• Improve the communities fire response and prevention efforts to

           wildland / urban interface fires.

The La Pine Rural Fire Protection District has highly trained and professional career firefighters and medical personnel along with a residential full-immersion student firefighter program and a volunteer support services group providing essential emergency services to the community. 

The District is known for efficient and effective use of taxpayer funds, maximizing cost recovery and grant opportunities by the use of best management practices, ongoing strategic planning processes, ten-year budget planning, and continually analyzing and improving expense and revenue structures.  It maintains the community’s equipment and facilities without debt. 

The District’s five elected Directors have significant public emergency management, business and healthcare experience.  The Directors set the District’s service goals and provide oversight of fire and EMS operations.  The District has a yearly external audit of its finances and procedures which is open for public review.

The La Pine Fire District has been able to keep the tax rates the same over 20 years while providing essential emergency services to the community by prioritizing, practicing frugality, growing in pace with the community, and carrying no debt – every penny is used to provide service.

The District has highly trained professional career and volunteer staff dedicated to the best possible care and who responded to 2965 emergency calls in 2022.

The District continues to improve with the efficient and effective use of taxpayer funds by the use of best management practices, ongoing strategic planning processes, ten-year budget planning, and continually analyzing and improving expense and revenue structures.

The District’s five elected Directors have significant public emergency management and business experience. The Directors set District service goals and provide oversight of Fire/EMS operations.  The District has a yearly external audit of its finances and procedures which is open for review by the public.

Information Provided by:

La Pine Rural Fire Protection District

Dan Daugherty

Assistant Fire Chief

541-536-2935 ext. 111