Woodburn Fire District asks voters to extend levy at same rate to maintain staffing

This story will be updated at 8 p.m. with the first election results

The Woodburn Fire District is asking voters to pass a 5-year operations levy at the same rate they’re already paying.

Property owners would pay 35 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for the next five years to increase staffing. For a property owner with an assessed value of $250,000, the operations levy would cost $88 a year, the same as residents in the district currently pay. The current levy expires the end of June.

The Woodburn Fire District covers 34,000 residents of Woodburn and Gervais in a 75-square mile area in the Mid-Valley.

Woodburn fire chief Joe Budge said that the district has expanded staff to guarantee four firefighters are working at all times, including one who is a paramedic, (Woodburn Ambulance covers the area with paramedics, EMT’s and ambulance service).

The Woodburn Fire District currently has 16 full-time firefighters and paramedics. If the levy fails, the district will lay off three part-time staff positions, including a safety inspector, volunteer coordinator and CPR program manager, Budge said.

With those staff reductions, the district would no longer staff its station on James Street in East Woodburn, he said,

Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him atbpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com