A proposed property tax that would fund Whatcom County’s medical first responders for the next six years is in limbo after the County Council made two significant changes: reducing the proposed tax rate by nearly one-third and adding language requiring EMS agencies to recruit and retain a more diverse staff.
Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Hewett told the Bellingham City Council — which must pass a resolution supporting the EMS levy before it can go on the ballot — that both changes may be unworkable at Monday’s meeting.
The County Council on June 21 added a 15-point action plan to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the 2023-28 Levy Plan, at the urging of council member Carol Frazey.
Under the action plan, fire districts, the city of Bellingham and other agencies providing EMS services would be required to set diversity goals and track progress in hiring, target specific communities for recruitment and foster a “culture of inclusion” in the workplace.
“I am pushing this because our EMS services provide some of the highest salaries from public funds in our county,” Frazey said in an email to Cascadia Daily News. “And when our constituents are most vulnerable and need help, they want to be helped by people who look and speak like them.”
Frazey said she would not vote to put the EMS levy on the November ballot without the diversity language. Council has until Aug. 2 to decide whether to place a levy on the fall ballot that would fund EMS through 2028. The current levy expires at the end of this year.
The diversity language was added to the Levy Plan after a 5–2 vote on June 21, with council members Kathy Kershner and Ben Elenbaas opposed.
“I just want to say that if I ever needed EMS services, I want someone who’s well-trained and compassionate,” Elenbaas said, “and I don’t care if they look like me.”
The council then voted 4–2 to drop the levy rate from 29.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to 19.9 cents, after hearing council member Kershner argue for the reduction.
The original EMS levy kicked off in 2017 at a 29.5-cent levy rate, but the rate fell over the ensuing five years as property values increased. The EMS levy collected nearly $7.9 million in property taxes in 2017 at the 29.5-cent rate. At 19.9 cents in 2022, the levy collected $8.6 million.
Kershner said the 29.5 cents the levy committee was asking for in 2023 amounts to a tax hike for property owners. She argued the rate should remain the same as it was in 2022. The difference for the owner of a $600,000 home is $57.60 a year.
“Everybody will vote for EMS because it’s a good thing to vote for, but I think we have a responsibility to make sure we aren’t raising taxes on individuals unnecessarily here,” Kershner said.
Council members Todd Donovan and Barry Buchanan voted against the rate reduction, and councilor Kaylee Galloway abstained.
Hewett, the fire chief, told the Bellingham City Council on Monday the EMS budget was developed over the past two years assuming the 29.5-cent rate.
Bellingham council member Lisa Anderson asked Hewett to outline how the county’s EMS system would function with the reduced tax collections.
“It would be a big game changer for us to go through and look at that,” Hewett replied. “My guess is we couldn’t get that done in time for the ballot this fall.”
Hewett also questioned the practicality of the diversity language that is now part of the levy plan. Hiring practices fall under individual agencies’ agreements with their workers’ unions.
“There was some trepidation early on about language in the levy plan that crossed into those areas that were subject to collective bargaining,” Hewett told the City Council.
Bellingham’s council took no action on the levy resolution Monday, choosing to wait to see what the County Council’s next move will be. The levy rate isn’t finalized yet, and EMS officials will have the opportunity at the County Council’s next meeting on July 12 to lobby for a higher rate.
