Commissioners eye 2027 property tax measure
The Okanogan County Fire District 6 board of commissioners will hold a public work session on Thursday, Aug. 13, to draft a business plan that would inform a possible property tax levy in 2027.
The commissioners expect to spend a few hours hammering out the draft at the meeting, which starts at 1 p.m. at the Winthrop Fire Station, 33 Horizon Flat Road.
Commissioners must decide what services to prioritize and how much they will cost, as they look to a possible levy increase next year. Commissioner Miles Milliken said last month he was eyeing the August 2027 ballot for a “levy lid lift,” which would increase the property tax rate from its current 49 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. That amounts to $245 a year on a $500,000 home.
Commissioners agree that this level of taxation isn’t meeting the fire district’s needs.
The district is allowed to collect a maximum of $1.50 per $1,000. Commissioners haven’t yet determined how much to increase the tax rate. The Aug. 13 meeting will help them set that amount, Milliken said Sunday (Aug. 2).
The commissioners, led my newcomer Sam Heller, originally considered running a levy lid lift this November but decided it would be more prudent to wait until next year, citing concerns from community members that a ballot measure this year would be “too fast,” Milliken has said.
In an email on Saturday (Aug. 1), Heller said commissioners will decide at the Aug. 13 meeting “which goals matter most for fire service in the district, and in what order.”
Areas that will come under consideration include staffing and wages, volunteers, stations and equipment, “and how the district pays for all of it,” Heller said.
The “central challenge,” in Heller’s view, is how to recruit and retain volunteers. The district’s volunteer rolls dipped from 55 in 2024 to 35 last year. The district would be fully staffed at 72 firefighters, according to state guidelines.
“Who shows up decides how fast we arrive and what we can do when we get there,” Heller said. “Other commissioners may see it differently, and that’s healthy.”
While the public is welcome to attend the Aug. 13 meeting, Heller said, “weighing in on the draft afterward may matter even more.”
Milliken said the meeting presents an opportunity for commissioners to work out “the logic and math behind our operation and what we need.”
“Hopefully we come out aligned and with concrete actions for the next few years,” he said.
