I also want to thank JOLT for publishing this and other article on the RFA. I also want to thank Larry Dzieza for his tireless work tracking this proposal including attending all the meetings around the RFA and developing a Fire Benefit Charge calculator.
The present proposal was poorly constructed with obvious flaws many of which were know from the beginning. What is most upsetting is that the City Councils (with the exception of Clark Gilman) voted to put this on the ballet. A ballet measure in and of itself is expensive, but then the City went to further expense in sending out a glossy promotional flyer. Additionally, the Fire Benefit Charge is regressive. The smallest houses get charged more per square foot than the largest houses, and small apartment buildings pay more than larger buildings. It is somewhat unfathomable that Councils that are so concerned about equity would put forth such a regressive proposal.
We have top notch fire departments with excellent response times. Let’s keep them in Olympia and Tumwater and if they need more funding then do a levy lid lift.
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