Annexation and property taxes are on the ballot in these East Pierce County cities

East Pierce County voters will weigh in on two emergency medical services proposals next month.

Voters must place their ballot in a drop box by 8 p.m. Aug. 6. or make sure their ballots are postmarked by Aug. 6.

City of Buckley

Buckley wants to increase the city’s emergency medical services (EMS) property tax levy to provide “sustainable funding for emergency medical purposes,” according to the voters’ pamphlet .

The current EMS levy rate is 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The city wants to restore the levy rate to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, and to allow the levy rate to increase by up to six percent in the next five years.

If voters approve the proposal, the average owner of a $500,000 home would pay $8.33 per month.

In 2023, the city responded to emergency medical care, fire suppression, rescue and other emergencies over 1,500 times – 16 percent more than the number of calls made in 2022. About 90 percent of the calls in 2023 were for medical aid, according to the voters’ pamphlet.

Those who wrote the “statement for” the measure in the voters’ pamphlet, Marilyn Whitmore and Nikki Slominski, said revenue from the EMS levy is the city’s main source of funding and ensures the community has emergency medical services.

“Costs for medical supplies and equipment such as ambulances continue to rise. A yes vote will restore the levy to the rate previously approved by voters and ensures continued delivery of life-saving care,” the committee members wrote in their statement.

There was no “statement against” the measure in the voters’ pamphlet.

Town of Eatonville and South Pierce Fire & Rescue

Eatonville wants to annex into South Pierce Fire & Rescue (SPFR) for continued fire protection and emergency medical services.

If voters approve the proposal, the town will be included within SPFR’s taxing boundaries and service area. All regular property taxes that SPFR may impose on the town would be subtracted from regular property taxes that the town may impose, according to the voters’ pamphlet.

The town has been contracting with SPFR for services, according to the voters’ pamphlet .

Interim South Pierce Fire Chief Zane Gibson told The News Tribune that the town has been paying the fire department directly. By annexing into the fire district, the taxpayers would pay the fire department directly instead.

“Taxpayers would have direct say in ballot measures that we might do,” Gibson said.

The voters’ pamphlet did not have a “statement for” or a “statement against” the measure.

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