Sagle Fire seeking levy increase

SAGLE — The Sagle Fire District adopted resolutions Tuesday to begin taxing on unimproved properties and asking voters to approve a levy increase.

Sagle Fire Commissioner Steve Fels said the moves are meant to preserve three firefighter positions and improve coverage in southern Bonner County.

"It's pretty much, in our estimation, crucial," Fels said of the increased taxation and the levy increase request.

Voters in the district will be asked to support the permanent levy increase during the Nov. 3 election.

A proposed levy rate was not immediately available on Tuesday.

Fels said the district needs $291,000 annually to keep the firefighters on the payroll and staff the district's station off U.S. Highway 95 in Careywood. The firefighters' positions became jeopardized when Bonner County canceled its EMS contract with Sagle so it could expand its own EMS services into the Sagle area.

Those firefighters' positions are funded through Sept. 30.

"Right now, we're carrying those three positions through the end of our fiscal year, but come Oct. 1 we're down three people," Fels said.

The district has not been taxing on unimproved property since 1997. Fels said the district at that time did not necessarily want to be fighting wildland fires on unimproved private ground.

"The reality is (now) we do and we fight an increasing number of them on private land," Fels said.

Exhibit A in Sagle's shift in tax policy is a recent wildfire that broke out on unimproved private property near Cocolalla a few weeks back.

"Had it been untouched by us, who knows were it could have gone," Fels said.

The change in taxation policy will be a hit to owners of unimproved parcels, but Fels said landowners of improved properties should see a decrease in their taxes because the tax burden is being spread among everybody in the district.

"Basically, all we're doing is having everybody pay their share, which is effectively a tax decrease for the improved property owners," said Fels.

Efforts to obtain breakdowns of the number of improved and unimproved properties in the district from the Bonner County Assessor's Office were not successful on Tuesday. Fels said there are nearly 10,000 improved parcels within the district and substantially more unimproved parcels.