The Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority “Kent RFA” is responsible for providing fire protection and emergency medical services in your community. For the last six years, the Kent RFA has funded these services primarily through a combination of property taxes and voter approved benefit charges.
Under state law, voters must renew the use of benefit charge every 6 years. A benefit charge is not a property tax. The benefit charge is a user fee designed to allocate the cost of the services provided by the Kent RFA in reasonable proportion to the measurable benefit a property receives. The benefit charge is based on an industry accepted formula that takes into consideration fire flows, the square footage of structures, the type of structures and various risk factors.
The Kent RFA Governance Board has determined that a benefit charge provides a stable, reliable and cost effective method for financing the operations of the Kent RFA and for maintaining satisfactory levels of service.
Under state law, regional fire authorities which collect benefit charges have reduced taxing authority. Benefit charges can constitute no more than 60 percent of a fire authority’s annual operating budget and the fire authority’s maximum property tax rate is reduced from $1.50 to $1.00 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
If approved, Proposition 1 would continue the current funding methods utilized by the Kent RFA to provide emergency medical and fire protection services for the next 6 years.
For questions about this measure, contact: Kimberly Matej, Government Relations Manager,
253-856-4469, kmatej@kentfirerfa.org
