WVFD Chief Brian Brett Thanking Voters For Passing Prop. 1
Wenatchee Valley Fire Department (WVFD) Chief Brian Brett is singing the praises of voters in Chelan and Douglas Counties for passing a proposition for a fire benefit charge in this week's Primary Election.
"All we can say is, 'thank you', to our community for partnering with us and supporting their fire department once again. This is your fire department and we answer to you. And we're so grateful that we will now have the funding methodology that's going to have us in a good fiscal place for the next six years."
Currently, the WVFD operates on funding collected through a property tax levy that's established every six years.
The new fire benefit charge will reduce the overall tax collected through the levy and add a charge based on a structure's square footage.
Brett says property owners in both counties will begin seeing the new charge next year.
"It will get rolled out when they send out the property tax statements in approximately February or March of 2025. Property owners will likely see their fire department tax on one line and the next line will say 'fire benefit charge'. It would be nice if we could break it out like that so people could see how it was split."
Many property owners will pay the same or even less when the fire benefit charge takes effect.
Brett cites an example of the potential savings for the owner of a 2,500 square foot home in Douglas County appraised at $600,000 as being approximately $32 annually.
To find out what the fire benefit charge will be for your property, click here.
Proposition No. 1 is currently passing by a healthy margin of 70% (5,891) to 30% (2,525).
The measure requires at least 60% of the vote to become law
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