Another tax increase for Tacoma Fire? Leaders say it is needed to modernize department

The Tacoma Fire Department is urging voters to support a new levy-lid lift. Proponents say it would help the department pay for much-needed improvements, including modernizing stations and replacing old fire engines.

On June 18, the Tacoma City Council approved ballot language for the proposed fire levy-lid lift, which is up for a vote on Nov. 5. It would increase the city’s regular property tax levy by $0.65 per $1,000 of assessed value, raising around $30 million per year.

“Our facilities are in desperate need of repair due to deferred maintenance,” Fire Chief Tory Green told The News Tribune. “Our apparatus [vehicles] are well past their useful life. Much of our firefighting equipment is well past its useful life.”

Passing the levy would mean the average homeowner (with a house worth $450,000) would pay an extra $25 per month, according to the city. By contrast, last year’s EMS levy-lid lift — aimed at expanding emergency medical services in Tacoma — translated to an additional $9.04 each month for the owner of a property valued at $493,000.

More than 450 firefighters across 17 stations serve the areas overseen by Tacoma Fire Department, according to the city.

During a June 11 study session, Green told city leaders that a recent study from a consultant showed that 85% of the department’s facilities are in critical or poor condition. Call volume ballooned over the past decade, he said, yet more than 60% of the department’s fleet is “beyond its useful life.”

Money from the levy-lid lift would help the department obtain two fire engines each year and a ladder truck every other year, Green said. The department would be able to replace its entire fleet every eight years.

Green added that it’s “arguably the best” fleet-replacement plan he’s seen in three decades.

“Sounds like it’s a little overdue,” Council member Olgy Diaz said during the study session. “That’s exciting.”

“It’s a bit overdue,” Green agreed.

What else would the levy-lid lift do?

Property tax is a key source of the department’s revenue, Green told The News Tribune. State law caps annual property-tax increases at 1%, but that rate “doesn’t even come close” to keeping up with the department’s increase in expenses, he said.

The city has warned that if the levy isn’t approved in November, residents could see longer emergency-response times. The News Tribune previously reported that in 2018, it took crews department-wide an average of 7 minutes to get to the site of an emergency. In 2023, the average response time was 8 minutes and 20 seconds, fire department spokesperson Chelsea Shepherd said via email. The condition of stations, equipment and apparatus also could keep declining.

Some vehicles intended to respond to 2,500 incidents per year have wound up fielding roughly 4,500, Green said. Even though the city’s population has steadily increased, the department’s fleet has not.

“When I came on to the fire department in 1993, we had 20 first-response units: 16 engines and four ladders [fire trucks],” Green said. “And this is 2024, and we still have 20 first-response units: 16 engines and four ladders.”

Shepherd noted via email the estimated price for purchasing and outfitting a fire engine is about $1 million. It costs around $2 million for a ladder truck.

The Tacoma Fire Department responded to approximately 51,500 emergency incidents last year, according to the city’s website. Its 2023-24 total budget is around $245.9 million, roughly 62% of which comes from the city’s general fund.

The department’s call volume has risen by 36% since 2010, the city’s website states.

Green partly attributes that increase to Tacoma’s continued growth: Today its population is nearly 223,900, having welcomed roughly 20,000 people since 2014, according to World Population Review. The more people who move to the area, the more calls there will be — and it will likely only get busier in the coming years.

By 2050, Tacoma’s population is anticipated to increase by 36%, according to the city’s 2024 Fire Facilities Master Plan.

Green cited another major factor in the uptick in calls: People who lack access to primary healthcare providers often rely on 911 for help.

“The majority of the growth of our calls is in emergency medical services, by far,” Green said.

For example, Shepherd said, the department saw a 42% increase in EMS calls from 2006 to 2023.

What equipment does the Fire Department need?

Approving the levy-lid lift would mean the department would see benefits beyond replenishing its fleet. Green said other crucial, potentially life-saving items that the department needs include:

• Self-contained breathing apparatus, used for breathing in smoke-filled environments.

• Extrication equipment, used to cut people out of cars.

• Thermal-imaging cameras, used to see through smoke.

The proposed levy increase would help the department begin to address deteriorating facilities with about $8 million per year, Green said.

Most of the department’s facilities were constructed for a different era, Green added. For instance, three fire stations were built with horse-drawn equipment in mind.

What’s next for the proposal?

The ballot language for the fire levy-lid lift has been approved. So, what’s next?

Applications to join committees “for” and “against” the proposal will be reviewed in mid-July, according to Green’s study-session presentation. Later that month, the City Council is expected to adopt those committees.

The city clerk will send pertinent levy materials to the Pierce County Elections Office in August. Election Day is Nov. 5.

How Tacomans would vote on another levy-lid lift is yet to be determined. One critic of last year’s EMS-related proposal told The News Tribune that such tax hikes are hard on property owners and residents.

“I just was shocked they just want to enact another tax … it never goes away,” Donna Walters told The News Tribune at the time. “They shouldn’t be asking the property owners to pay for every ill of our city. It’s on our shoulders and it’s getting heavier, the burden is getting heavy.”

Green said he appreciates how lifting the levy could affect residents. He noted that there are exemptions for qualifying veterans, seniors and others.

The department doesn’t want to increase the burden on taxpayers, Green said. But if the proposal doesn’t pass, then the services people get after calling 911 could take a hit.

“I think I’ve helped to describe a picture of the state of the current Fire Department, and if that doesn’t get addressed, the call volume and the number of people moving here doesn’t get impacted — that continues to go up,” Green added. “And yet, we don’t have the resources to do the work sufficiently today.

“It’s a recognized impact, but it’s an impact for the community.”