In my opinion, Proposition 1 is a ridiculous proposal which doubles our EMS taxes permanently. Don’t get me wrong; we all want and need fire and EMS services – but reasonable services at a reasonable cost. We don’t need the Cadillac system which I believe we have now. There have been times where two or three aid cars arrive to treat one person which is total over-kill.
I believe it is irresponsible for the fire department to resort to using scare tactics to increase our taxes by 100%. Why is it all or nothing? Why don’t they simply ask for a renewal of the current maintenance levy instead of saying that it is double or nothing? Or ask for a reasonable 10% increase. No, they believe they need to increase our taxes by 100% permanently this time. Will they reduce our taxes when housing values go back up? I believe you know the answer to that.
High salaries, and generous benefits and pensions are the reason for needing more money. They claim that 85% of fire service cost is salaries. Salaries, benefits, and pensions are way out of line compared to other jobs, especially those jobs requiring college degrees. Everyone else these days (in the private sector) has to sacrifice and accept frozen or reduced salaries, reduced or no health benefits, and elimination of pensions. It is only in the government sector that salaries and unfunded pensions continue to increase. Private sector businesses would go bankrupt if they had to keep up these generous benefits. Salaries are inflated because they only compare their salary and salary increases with other fire fighters and not other private sector jobs. Why are fire fighters with a high school education making more and working less than a Boeing engineer with a college degree?
Unfortunately, the only way to live with reduced funding is to cut personnel because fire fighters would rather see their fellow fire fighters lose their jobs than accept reduced salaries, benefits and pensions. Therefore we have no other recourse but to reject Proposal 1 and let the fire department start over with a new, lower levy request.
They also want to make this levy permanent because they claim that it costs too much to renew the levy every 6 years. It wouldn’t cost that much if they didn’t purchase thousands of signs, mail thousands of cards, and send out thousands of newsletters. By making it permanent, it locks in an automatic increase in our taxes when housing prices increase.
Remember, the fire department exists because of you and they work for you. We are at a point where many Snohomish County Fire District 7 employees will be retiring and we can not afford to continue these high salaries and unfunded pensions The only way to get the government budgets under control is for us to stand up and refuse to approve these ridiculous levies. If we disapprove this levy, they will simply propose another one, and maybe this time it will be a reasonable amount. Show them that scare tactics don’t work. Just Say No!!!