The Bellevue Fire Department provides fire suppression, rescue and emergency medical service to City residents and surrounding communities. Bellevue’s rapid growth is straining our facilities and first-rate response times. The lives and property saved and protected are inestimable relative to the value to those citizens served.

Without the essential upgrades to the Fire Facilities Master Plan, as outlined in the Proposition, fire facilities will continue to deteriorate or fail to meet the needs of our fast-growth community. A new Downtown station is critical to effectively serve the growing population, density and commercial properties while ensuring resources to other neighborhoods are not negatively impacted.

The benefits to be derived far exceed the property tax investment proposed, with all citizens reaping the advantage of improved facilities, response times and rescue. Costs of these improvements will not decrease in the future, only escalate. To save one life, one home, one business is an immeasurable impact on the entire community.

It is critical to ensure the Bellevue Fire Department has safe, survivable and appropriate facilities to enable continued excellence in fire and emergency medical response, supporting the citizens of Bellevue and its neighboring communities. Vote Yes to protect us all!

This levy is not vote on fire facility improvements — we need these upgrades and Bellevue can pay for them. It is a vote on how to finance them. Is property tax the right funding source? Why are lower priorities funded first? Why can Bellevue fund land and operations for a downtown fire station but not the building? We should reject this levy and do the work to fix the budget — fund critical services first, make effective decisions on discretionary items, enable flexibility in sources.

Levy funds are inflexible. Funds and results trickle in over twenty years. Funds can only be used for items in the Levy. Bellevue needs to be nimble to adapt to growth and technology.

Set by city codes, Bellevue’s growth pattern can change over the next twenty years. Like gardens, cities are never finished. The fund distribution may change with growth, transit-oriented development, the Innovation Triangle, and mixed-use communities. New development requires new infrastructure.

Bellevue can raise property taxes for critical needs without this levy — 3% last year. Given a budget shortfall, voters want choices on funding secondary items falling off the list.

We should not wait twenty years. Bellevue must effectively handle competing, critical priorities.

This levy is specifically for building the new fire station and required improvement to fire facilities. Property tax increases only grow, are not reduced over time and are not use specific. Conversely, this taxpayer-approved levy has a specific timetable of 20 years. In 20 years, the required improvements will have been made, a Downtown fire station built all allowing responder services to remain ‘first rate’. The levy then discontinues with the goals met.

Submitted by: Michael Eisner, Jeanne Elliott, Michelle Hilhorst, m.eisner@comcast.net

A levy is simply the wrong way to finance fire facilities. Bellevue’s budget must fund essential services first. 

This levy will take twenty years. Meanwhile, costs rise. Bellevue’s rapid growth requires infrastructure. A downtown station, earthquake-ready stations, and continued first-rate responses need funding now. 

Levy funds must be used as written. This levy lacks flexibly, such as funding technological equipment advances over warehouse space. 

Reject Proposition 1. Protect us now. Fund fire first. 

Submitted by: Pamela Johnston, djpjgj@msn.com

Complete text of measure

Simple majority (RCW 84.55.050) 

For questions about this measure, contact: Kyle Stannert, Assistant City Manager, 425-452-6021, kstannert@bellevuewa.gov