North Whatcom Fire and Rescue Board of Commissioners unanimously approved placing a levy lid lift proposal on August primary ballots that would increase the current levy rate from $0.77 to $1.20 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
The ballot measure would allow the district to collect up to $118.6 million during the six-year levy.
The approval came during the fire commission’s March 19 meeting.
The August measure will be the fire district’s fourth attempt at a levy lid lift in recent years, with previous bids for taxpayer dollars once in 2024 and twice in 2021.
NWFR Chief Jason Van Der Veen and fire commissioners have been sounding the alarm on what they consider a critical financial situation for the district over the past five years. The district, which hasn’t seen an increased levy rate in 20 years, is at an impasse when it comes to adequately providing staffing and infrastructure to the growing district.
“It’s not to build Taj Mahal headquarters,” Van Der Veen said. “We’re talking about hiring firefighters, the people who are responding to your home in your time of need.”
Aside from one new battalion chief, the district hasn’t added additional staff in almost 20 years, Van Der Veen said. All the while, call volume has climbed 100% in those two decades. One-third of calls are not responded to by the nearest fire station.
The fire district was also unable to provide wage increases in 2026 and Van Der Veen said he’s worried about being able to fill vacancies left by upcoming retirements. Without adequate staffing, Van Der Veen said the district may need to close stations or plan rotating station closures.
The levy would accomplish several key things the district needs to function at what Van Der Veen described as adequate levels: increase staffing, which would include reoperating the vacant Station 62 in Semiahmoo; fund a remodel or rebuild of Birch Bay Station 63; and replace ambulances and apparatus more frequently.
In 2024, the fire district sought to surplus the Semiahmoo station but switched course a few months later after the city of Blaine unveiled its plan to focus on long-term housing growth in west Blaine.
If the levy passes, the station could have an ambulance in six months and be fully staffed in 12-18 months, Van Der Veen said.
The Birch Bay station has a growing list of concerns the district has attempted to alert the public to in recent years, including increasing maintenance costs, the training tower’s structural integrity and tight quarters that aren’t up to date with current Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
Fire commissioners are considering three options for the Birch Bay station: gut and remodel the entire station; remodel the apparatus bay, remove the administrative side and create an addition to the building; or demolish it and build a new station.
Expanding staffing would require about 75% of total levy funds, at $89.5 million.
The levy increase would also put $2.5 million to $4.8 million toward the Birch Bay station upgrade, depending on whether it’s a remodel or rebuild.
Apparatus debt service would cost $4.1 million and ambulance replacements would cost $2
million.
Blaine resident Jennifer Plombon said during public comment prior to the board’s approval that she supported $1.20 per $1,000 of assessed property value after speaking with Semiahmoo and Birch Bay residents.
“This will cover the increased population,” Plombon said. “This will give you a functioning fire station, which you don’t have right now.”
If voters approve the levy increase, an average homeowner — the owner of a $500,000 home — would go from paying $32 per month under the current rate to $50 per month during the levy’s first year. Every year after that, rates could increase up to 3%.
The up to 3% annual rate increase comes from a limit factor on the ballot measure that would allow fire commissioners to approve up to a 3% tax increase without voter approval during each year of the six-year levy.
This would give the fire district permission to collect more than the 1% tax increase the state allows without voter approval, which Van Der Veen said is needed to keep up with inflation.
Fire commissioners debated whether to include the limit factor on the ballot, but supported it, saying they wouldn’t approve the 3% tax increase unless necessary. The increase would require a public hearing each year.
The fire commissioners also considered an alternative levy lid lift of $1.10 per $1,000 of assessed property value, but ultimately decided on $1.20 per $1,000 of assessed property value, which would offer the district $6.3 million in additional funds to cover unforeseen costs.
If the levy doesn’t pass, Van Der Veen said the fire district would still need to find new housing for firefighters in the Birch Bay station due to health concerns. This would likely require putting a trailer in the Birch Bay parking lot for the firefighters to live while on shift.
This election, Van Der Veen said the district is trying to simplify its message to voters.
“Firefighters love running calls,” he said. “But we have to have the people and stations to run them from.”
