Northside voters to decide levy

PONDERAY — The fate of Northside Fire District’s request to levy additional taxes to keep up with increasing demands for service and equipment costs will be decided by patrons on May 25.

The polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Northside residents can cast ballots at Ponderay City Hall or the Hidden Valley Worship Center near the corner of U.S. Highway 95 and Hidden Valley Road.

“The number of calls per year has steadily increased,” Dave Fisk, the fire district’s public information officer, said on Wednesday.

Fire district personnel are responding to about 300 calls a year and expect that figure to increase in the next couple of years.

District patrons currently pay $26.65 per $100,000 of assessed value. The district is asking to raise the rate to $50.11 per $100,000 of assessed value so it can hire paid personnel to staff the station on a 24/7 basis and eventually pay for a new engine and a new main station.

The current taxpayer cost is $2.22 a month, but would increase to $4.18 per month if voters approve the levy request.

In return, Northside taxpayers would receive an improved level of service and better fire insurance ratings. If the permanent levy override fails, the district could be forced to close satellite stations, which would lengthen response times and increase insurance premiums, district officials said.

If the levy is approved, the district plans to hire six full-time firefighters who would work two at a time around the clock. The personnel would cost about $240,000 annually.

The rest of the additional revenue would help defray the costs of a new piece of apparatus and new station for the Ponderay area. The increased rate would be comparable to that of Westside Fire District.

The district currently has two paid positions for chief and assistant chief and two dozen volunteers, most of whom are over the age of 40. Nationally and locally, fire services are seeing a downturn in volunteers, which some attribute to shifting values from one generation to the next and increased demands on people at younger ages.

“There’s less volunteerism than there was even five or six years ago,” said Fisk.

Chief Brad Mitton said population growth is driving up call volumes, which does not include the influx of more tourists, those just passing through and traffic impacts associated with the U.S. Highway 95 bypass.

The district currently has four stations, three of which are unmanned, but all of which are outfitted with engines of varying vintages. Mitton said those resources have translated into good response times and insurance rates.

“Over the years, the department has really saved the taxpayers a lot of money,” he said.