Updated: Fire District 3’s levy proposition passes

Published 9:30 pm Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Updated: Aug. 8

Clallam County Fire District 3’s levy lid lift has passed in the primary election and district leaders say they won’t need to dip into reserves next year as a result.

Multi-county results as of Aug. 8 showed 7,335 (64.4 %) voted in favor of increasing the levy rate from $1.11 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, while 4,051 (35.6 %) voted against the increase. The general levy needed a simple majority of 50% plus one vote in a renewal/restoration vote.

Voter turnout in Clallam County was about 32.6% with 90 ballots left to count on Friday, Aug. 15, while Jefferson County has 43.6% turnout. Both elections will be certified on Aug. 19.

“(The vote shows that) the voters support us; that we’re doing the right thing and providing a good service,” said Fire Commissioner Mike Mingee.

Voters originally approved the $1.50 levy rate in 2004 and approved restoring the rate in 2018.

The general levy makes up about 71% of the fire district’s annual funds with this year’s budget approved at about $14.5 million. Grider previously said the levy rate reduction is due to levy compression where Washington’s law caps property tax revenue growth to 1% per year resulting in gradual degradation of the levy over the years.

Mingee said if the general levy renewal didn’t pass they would have looked to use reserves to maintain operations in 2026.

Fire Chief Justin Grider said they’d have looked to cut non-essential services, such as water and technical rescues, and public education.

Fire district staff report the levy restoration would cost a homeowner with a home assessed at $470,000, about $15.28 more than what they pay now per month, or $183.36 more than now each year.

With approval, collection will begin in 2026, and the maximum allowable levy in 2030 shall serve as the base for subsequent levy limitations, according to the Clallam County Voter’s Guide.

Grider said restored funds would help support personnel, supplies, equipment, training, facilities, and vehicles.

“Over the years we’ve been maintaining and we’ve had to start to reduce our budget and go into our coffers, so this allows us to move forward,” he said.

“It comes down to service delivery for our citizens … and restores a lot of the programs (such as CPR programming) we’ve had to cut back on.”

Other elections

Sequim area voters also voted for Hospital District 2 commission No. 7 position with Penney Sanders (8,586 votes) and Laurie Force (5,453 votes) advancing to the general election.

Other Clallam County races seeing candidates advancing include City of Port Angeles, position No. 1 where LaTrisha Suggs (2,133 votes) and James Taylor (1,222 votes), and incumbent Kate Dexter (2,482 votes) and Marolee “Mimi” Smith Dvorak (1,120 votes) for position No. 4.

In the Port Angeles School District director No. 1 race, incumbent Sarah Methner and Ned Hammar will advance to the Nov. 4 election.

For more information about the election, visit clallamcountywa.gov/162/Elections-Voter-Registration.

More about district

Clallam County Fire District 3 serves an approximate 142-square mile area from Gardiner to Bagley Creek.

In 2024, fire district staff responded to a record 9,000-plus calls for service, including an increase of more than 500 emergency calls.

Grider said they’re on track for 9,800-9,900 calls this year, but “realistically we could break 10,000.”

Fire District 3 has 60 total staff, including 45 firefighters/ paramedics/ EMS. There are three shifts with 15 firefighters per shift.

CCFD3 fire commissioners unanimously voted in August 2024 to go forward with the levy lid lift for the general levy and consider running an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) levy lid lift renewal sometime in 2026.

Mingee said he and other fire commissioners will take a deep breath and enjoy what they were able to accomplish in this vote before forecasting if they need to go back to voters for restoring the EMS levy.

The district’s budget receives about 23% from the EMS levy, and the remainder from grants, timber tax revenues, and more. opted to delay asking for renewing the EMS rate. Fire district staff report that the EMS levy is now about $0.39 per $1,000 of a home value, rather than its originally approved $0.50 rate.

Mingee said the district’s needs are multi-faceted, such as with infrastructure and replacing the Carlsborg Fire Station, and they’ll need to determine the best financing method for that.

“As a fire district, we have to look down the road how we’re going to efficiently deliver the best level of service (and) how we can share resources with fire districts around us and capture an economy of scale,” he said.

Grider said he feels they’ve done a good job of sharing their message and needs. He thanked citizens for voting, and the IAFF Local 2933: Clallam County Professional Firefighters and volunteer firefighters for their efforts.

“The services we provide are on their backs,” he said. “We can’t do what we do without them.”

He welcomed the public to visit board meetings at 1 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at the district’s Training Operation’s Center, 255 Carlsborg Road.

For more information about the district, visit ccfd3.org.