Posted on by Emily Stewart

2027 Budget Update and Invitation for Public Input

In February 2026, voters approved recalibrating levy rates for both our Fire and EMS operations, resetting the Fire levy to $1.40 per $1,000 of assessed value and restoring the EMS levy to $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. These new rates will first be collected starting in 2027. As stated in September of this year, this investment affords EJFR time and capacity, but not financial abundance.

In preparing our proposed 2027 budget, the Budget Committee understood the importance of this investment. They reviewed more than 100 program funding requests and measured each request against a simple test: does it protect safety, meet a real operational or regulatory need, and fit our long-term plan? Some requests were selected for funding, some were postponed, and some were not funded at all.

The result is a proposed 2027 Fire and EMS budget of about $21.3 million, with 70% of it covering personnel costs and drawing about $224,000 from the fund balance. Without the investment of resetting the levy rates earlier this year, 2027 would have been about $2 million short.

Our 2027 property tax revenue is also impacted, coming in about $16.56 million, roughly $571,000 less than we planned. Two unexpected things drove that reduction.

First, assessed property values in the district grew only 0.3% in 2026, compared with the 4% we projected from preliminary consultation with our Assessor’s office. Second, the state expanded eligibility requirements for its property tax relief program. While that relief matters to many of our residents, for EJFR, it equals a smaller tax base.

The timing of each of these events matters here. In a lid lift year, the levies are set at the approved rates multiplied by the assessed property values, and those amounts become the starting points for future years.

So, the smaller revenue base in 2027 carries forward at about $571,000 each year less than we planned. We are now updating our long-term forecast to understand what this means for the years ahead and will report back to the Board of Commissioners early next year.

We also continue to look for outside funding. FEMA awarded $83,636 for a project at Station 7, but our other FEMA applications, along with requests to Washington State Labor and Industries (L&I) and the County’s Behavioral Health Advisory Committee, were not funded. Grant support for our CARES program is also declining. In 2027, EJFR will cover about $191,000 of the cost of the CARES program while a long-term funding source is developed.

We plan beyond one year. Early in 2027 we will report where we stand, by mid-year we will bring options to the Board, and any decisions will be built into the 2028 budget.

Public input is important.

The Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the proposed 2027 budget on Thursday, November 5, at 3:00 p.m., at Station 6, 9193 Rhody Drive, Chimacum. We invite the public to join the discussion in person or online and share questions or comments. The link to join via Microsoft Teams is available on the home page of our website.

This is a community investment in emergency services, and we want the community to know how we are putting their dollars to work.

The Board is scheduled to make a final vote on the budget on Tuesday, November 17, 2026.

Annual Reports

 

EJFR Budgets

Public budget hearings are held in mid-November of each year. The budget is approved and submitted to the county in late November. Please call 360-385-2626 if you would like to know more about our budget or the approval process.

Other Reports

 

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