CHIMACUM — East Jefferson Fire Rescue’s board of commissioners is likely to approve the district’s 2026 budget today and ask voters next February for a levy lid lift.
“If there is no levy lid lift, we start to reach a real danger point in 2027,” finance director Roy Lirio said in a budget hearing last Wednesday.
While expenses consistently rise along with inflation, state law has limited what the fire department can collect in property taxes to a 1 percent increase per year. About 80 percent of the department’s projected $20 million-plus 2026 revenue will come from property taxes.
“The fundamental conundrum we’re in, for lack of a better phrase, is that, as the assessed value goes up a certain percentage, our tax revenue does not go up by that same percentage, unless they both happen to be 1 percent,” Lirio said.
The rate of inflation typically grows at three to four times the rate of the 1 percent increase, according to a news release from East Jefferson Fire Rescue (EJFR).
Before its last levy lid lift in 2023, EJFR hadn’t lifted the lid since 2011. Catching up with inflation is likely to take several cycles of three-year lifts, the agency said.
In February, voters would decide on whether to support a levy rate of $1.40 per $1,000 in assessed property value for fire service and $0.50 per $1,000 in assessed value for Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
The increase would mean an annual increase of $150 for property owners with an assessed value of $600,000, starting in 2027.
Additional revenue sources include EMS transport fees, federal grants relating to EMS services and other smaller grants for specialized programs, Lirio said.
The department’s budget includes $20.8 million in expenses in 2026, notably higher than projected revenues. The projected deficit between revenue and expense for the department is about $1.36 million.
The deficit includes a planned transfer of $650,000 into the district’s Future Fleet and Equipment savings account, decreasing the operating reserve to $4.9 million.
“Which represents just a few months of operating expenses,” the agency said.
To preserve reserves and keep apparatus safe to operate, EJFR plans to finance two engines and an ambulance in 2026 through the state’s Local Program, adding about $2.5 million in new debt.
Taking into account fire and EMS capital dollars, the department’s starting fund and reserves, EJFR is expected to have an ending balance of more than $9.2 million.
“Like most public entities, labor is our most valued asset,” Lirio said. “It’s also our most expensive. Our biggest challenge related to the salaries is trying to stay within our means, but at the same time, not having our salaries go so low where people are looking for other opportunities outside of the organization, which has happened several times in the past.”
Some other agencies still give signing bonuses for entry-level firefighters, Lirio said.
The agency budgets 70 percent to 80 percent of its expenditures toward salaries and benefits, he said. A pie chart in his presentation said the 2026 projected percentage is 72.4 percent.
Operations costs are about 18.6 percent of the budget. The remaining expenses are debt payments, transfers, long-term leases and capital expenditures.
With the structural budget constraints in mind, EJFR reduced its asks for vital equipment and training.
“Requests for marine and firefighter training, automated external defibrillator (AED) machines and emergency radio communications upgrades were significantly reduced,” the agency stated in its release. “Training expenses were held at just 2 percent of the proposed 2026 budget.”
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.
