Vote Yes for East Pierce Fire & Rescue- maintain current level services and improve Firefighter staffing.

The Fire District needs our support to provide high quality services

East Pierce Fire and Rescue needs our support. Vote Yes to renew the levy, maintain the high quality of services and hire needed firefighters and paramedics, improving efficiency and services. Call volume has never been higher, hiring 12 firefighters/paramedics will provide better response times and get staffing levels closer to national standards.

Three firefighters on engines improves firefighter capabilities and reduces fire loss

East Pierce Fire has lost over $2.5 Million annually due to economic downturn and is asking to renew the M&O Levy for a 4 year term, replacing lost revenue and filling vacant positions. EPFR currently operates primarily with 2 person Engine Companies, by hiring the needed firefighters/paramedics EPFR can improve staffing with 3 person engine companies which can perform rescue’s 25% faster than 2 firefighters can.

Fire District has reduced costs over the years to react to recessionary loss of revenue

EPFR has reduced capital expenditures, the operations budget and overtime costs. Employees have taken wage cuts/concessions without any significant service level cuts.

Please ‘Vote Yes, Renew the Levy’.

It never ends!  The District, never satisfied with the money it gets, always wants more.  When you add up all the different property taxes that the Fire District plans to collect, this Maintenance and Operations levy means that a home assessed at $250,000 will be paying an approximate average of $620 per year.  This levy has no targeted purpose.  They can spend it on almost anything they want.  Once dependent upon this extra levy, they will not give it up willingly.

Our Fire District Chiefs and Firefighters are among the highest paid in the USA.  Our District is not the wealthiest, nor the busiest.  Starting salary and benefits: $124,000 per year.  Why pay platinum level wages?

They want more Firefighters???  They must further strengthen their Volunteer Firefighter Program!!!  Volunteers’ having substantial meaningful work is not a threat to career firefighters; it is an assurance of increased staffing and reduced cost to the taxpayer.

Defeat this levy.  There’s nothing to feel guilty about.  Be Brave – Vote No!  We must demand that our elected Fire Commissioners advocate for us, the taxpayers, and not the management and the union.  Unless we break this repetitive cycle, the extra levies and bonds will never end.

The levy is needed to help replace lost revenues due to the continuing effects of the recession and to increase minimum staffing to improve protection. Additional firefighters provide faster rescue, reduce fire loss and injuries. Even with the levy, your fire taxes will be less than 2008 and less than comparable Pierce County fire districts. Starting salary is significantly less than stated. Our firefighters are paid a comparable wage for this area.

Please vote yes.

Statements submitted by: William Sandlian, Margaret Drotz, and Raymond Bunk dad1073@yahoo.com

The only thing that the District is proposing to do is to collect 19.2 million extra dollars, and spend it on anything that qualifies as Maintenance and Operations. Hiring more personnel only worsens the District’s long-term financial problems. The average cost burden for Labor and Command Staff ranges from $124,000 to $300,000 per person. 

The District’s lack of cost control does not warrant an additional tax burden on the public.

Be Brave – Vote No!

Statements submitted by: Rose Hill, Jacquelyn Whalen, and Richard Willner 253-848-5836

Download the full text of the resolution

60% yes vote with a minimum number of 5,032 yes votes (Wash. Const. Art. VII, sec. 2(a))