Fire Chief's statement addressing how much homeowners pay for fire and emergency services

Understanding How Much NorthShore Fire District Homeowners Pay for Fire and Emergency Services

Understanding how much you pay for fire and emergency services can be confusing. I am writing to provide clarity so that you will know how much you currently pay for your local fire and emergency services and how the amount you pay will change with a Regional Fire Authority (RFA).

The Northshore Fire Department has diversified revenue sources and predominantly relies on the fire levy property tax and the fire benefit charge (FBC) for annual revenues.

The confusion about how much property owners pay for their fire and emergency services arises from the property tax receipts that you receive from King County. The property tax statements do not clearly separate out these different sources. King County combines the fire levy property tax into the general "tax" line (as shown on the tax bill) or "County" (if looking at the pie chart online) with other tax sources. The FBC is identified as the "Fire District" or "Fire", on the property tax bill, or online respectively. This makes it complicated to figure out how you are being taxed, and in the case of the current RFA ballot measure, what is the cost difference.

If voters approve the RFA on February 11, 2025, and we do an apples-to-apples comparison, the overall average equivalent levy rate (which is a combination of the fire property tax levy and the FBC) for fire and emergency services will decrease by 4.3% (based on current estimates).

However, we can also calculate the specific impact for single-family homeowners. In 2025, the fire levy rate for the Northshore Fire Department is $.70 per $1,000 of AV. So, to calculate the cost of local fire and emergency medical services, first, use your property value in 2025, divide by 1,000, and multiply by $.70 to calculate the fire levy property tax.

You can find your property value on your tax statement or by going online.

⦁ Once there choose “address” or “parcel number” in the drop-down menu.

⦁ Then put in your address or parcel number and hit enter.

⦁ Then click on “Property Report.”

⦁ Scroll down to the “Tax Roll History” and use the top line value. You can also find your property from the map tool and zoom in until you find your home.

Second, look on your property tax bill and you will see the amount titled “Fire District”, which is the FBC.

The FBC and the fire levy tax added together is the total you pay annually to the Northshore Department.

For example in 2025, a property in the Northshore Fire Department with an AV of $812,000 might pay $568.40 on the fire levy tax at the rate of $.70 per $1,000 of AV, and $494.54 on the FBC, for a total of $1,062.94 annually for fire and emergency services. This same house, in an apples-to-apples comparison in the RFA for 2025, would pay the same on the fire levy tax (because the levy rate for the RFA in 2026 will be $.70), but $277.31 on the FBC (based on current estimates) for a total of $845.71 for the same services. In this example, it would be a reduction of $217.23, or a 20.4% decrease.

This is an analysis based on 2025 budget numbers. The RFA, if approved, would not begin collecting taxes until 2026 and we will not know what assessed values or costs we will be using for that budget until October 2025. However, what we know right now is that current budget estimates show that home owners would experience a reduction in what they pay in 2026 if the RFA is approved.

Thank you,

Shoreline Fire Department Fire Chief Matt Cowan