I want to thank the paper for running the story about call volumes increasing at Clark County Fire District 3 (“Budget for Fire District 3 strained,” Feb. 20). I’ve been a firefighter here 15 years, and we’re feeling the strain of a 40 percent increase in calls from the fire district alone.
Our contract with Battle Ground has taken some of the pressure off. The contract has increased the number of firefighters we have to respond to multiple emergencies and back-to-back calls, which has been a relief. We’re making do, but there are problems starting to surface. Response times are increasing, and we’re funding daily operations out of reserves, which will eventually run out. We can’t keep going like this.
Our fire commissioners will consider asking voters to restore funding for emergency services through a fire levy lid lift this fall. This simply means returning the fire levy to $1.42 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The highest our levy rate has been is $1.50 per $1,000 and we haven’t had a voter-approved increase since then.
We appreciate you considering our request if it makes it to the ballot this fall. I’m proud to be part of Fire District 3 and appreciate the support we receive from the community.
