How fire and ambulance service gets paid for is changing across the region
Connection 6 · Health & safetyThe connection: Fire and EMS used to come out of a city's general fund or a fire district's property tax. Now there are more ways to pay for it, and voters see more of them on the ballot. Bellingham's proposed fire authority would pair a property tax with a charge based on a building's size and use. The closest working example, in south Snohomish County, shows that once that charge exists, the fire board can shift the cost between the two each year. A 2026 state law added another route, with a condition Bellingham's plan doesn't have.
- Bellingham and Fire District 8Vote as soon as Feb. 2027The draft plan: a property tax of up to $1.00 per $1,000 plus a benefit charge, about $375 a year for the median home. Because of the charge, it needs 60% of voters. The board would reset the charge each year, up to 60% of its operating budget, and voters renew it every 6 years.
- South County FireHearing Tue., Oct. 20This fire authority (Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace, Brier) proposes raising its charge on a 2,000 sq ft home from about $104 to $178 a year for 2027, and its levy from about $1.16 to $1.24 per $1,000.
- State lawIn effect July 1A city can now form a fire protection district by council resolution, after consulting its fire and EMS unions. For districts formed after July 1, 2026, a city of 500,000 or fewer must cut its own levy by the district's rate.
- Fire District 1On the Nov. 3 ballotProp. 2026-08 asks to raise the rate to $1.48 per $1,000 from $1.12. The August try failed 1,620 to 1,744.
- Bellingham ambulancesFinal vote Mon., Oct. 19Transport rates rise $200 to $368 from Jan. 1. Separately, a federal proposed rule would cap a Medicaid supplement many ambulance agencies rely on, starting in 2029.