Literally, no room for a change on fire district’s tax bills

EVERETT — Snohomish County Fire District 1 wants to change how it charges property owners, in a way the district says could be fairer for most taxpayers.

There’s a hitch, though. Even if voters give the thumbs up, there’s no room for another charge on the tax bills sent by the Snohomish County’s treasurer’s office.

The fire district is concerned that having two separate tax statements might “cause taxpayer confusion,” according to an Oct. 6 resolution by the board. So the district “regrettably deferred” attempting a 2015 ballot measure asking voters to approve the new tax.

Now, fire district staff are working with the county to see if more room can be found on the tax form. That might mean using a smaller font. Fonts were being tested down to size 6 — half the size most commonly used for business communication. Still, they’d be left with the same number of lines for room — about a dozen.

“The only way to increase the lines is to get a legal-sized statement, which would be cumbersome and cost more to send out,” County Treasurer Kirke Sievers said. “If we agree with them, all of the other fire districts would want to do the same thing.”

The current font size used is 10, and “I get enough calls from the elderly who can’t read the statement now,” he said.

District officials hope to figure out a solution in early 2016, fire board Chairman Jim Kenny said. “Nothing’s been fixed yet,” he said.

It took the fire commissioners a few months to figure out their next step after they hit roadblocks this spring. The proposed tax is called a “benefit charge” under state law and would replace part of the fire levy. Some fire departments have adopted the model in King and Pierce counties.

Earlier this year, District 1 Fire Chief Ed Widdis said the benefit charge would be calculated based on the size and type of buildings, instead of assessed value. That means owners of commercial buildings and apartment complexes would pay more than single-family homeowners. Fire districts can’t adopt the charge without a public vote and a supermajority — 60 percent — in support.

Widdis in May said that a number of public meetings also showed the district needed more time to talk to people about the proposal.

The change would affect people in the district’s unincorporated areas south of Everett, but not those living in the contract cities of Brier, Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace. More public hearings will follow, Kenny said.

One thing the fire district hasn’t produced yet is a formula, including a promised online calculator, for people to figure out how their fire taxes would change. They haven’t gotten that far yet, Kenny said.

The ballot measure could appear in 2016, if the font size and other details get figured out. The county might consider allowing the district to combine the new charge with its old charge on the tax bills, Kenny said.

“If they can be consolidated together on the same line, if they can, if they agree, we have a non-technical solution to the problem,” Kenny said.

However, county prosecutors reviewed state laws, and they’re not sure such a move would be legal, Sievers said.

If something doesn’t get worked out in the next few months, the idea might be tabled until the county does a software upgrade that will allow them to reconfigure the tax forms. That’s expected to wrap up in 2017.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.