This Benton County fire district wanted ambulances. Now it needs a miracle

Benton County Fire District 1 leaders are regrouping after a new ambulance service proposal fell short Tuesday night.

The emergency medical services levy needed 60 percent to pass, but didn’t quite reach 53 percent.

The Benton County Auditor’s Office auditor’s office reported receiving nearly 28,588 ballots by Wednesday.

While Fire Chief Lonnie Click hasn’t given up hope, 8 percent seems a large gap to close, he said.

“We feel really good about getting the majority,” he said. “It means the majority of our citizens want the service.”

If it passes, the 50-cent-per-$1,000 assessed value increase would have paid for two ambulances along with seven more people to work on them. The district presently relies on ambulances from neighboring communities, usually Kennewick or Richland, to take people to a hospital.

The measure was aimed at trimming the amount of time it takes for an ambulance to reach parts of the 320-square-mile district that includes Finley and Rancho Reata. For people living in southern Finley, it can take as long 16 minutes to get an ambulance.

While the measure did not have any organized resistance, it suffered from a low-level of hostility.

Some people were upset because of the Benton County commissioners holding onto $11.7 million from the public safety sales tax — a decision they linked to the unrelated Benton County fire district.

Others felt the pain of a state property tax increase for schools, Click said. While property owners should see a drop in their taxes in 2019, this year features a temporary increase.

“Everyone got hit with their new tax bill in June,” he said.

The district spent more than a year planning this run, including hiring a firm to help talk about the services it provides.

It is still unclear whether the district will make another attempt to pass the measure. Click said he plans to talk to the Benton County commissioners during their meeting in a couple of weeks.

“We’re going to have to some discussion and figure out where we go from here,” he said.

The 17,800 people in the district won’t need to worry about getting an ambulance though, he said.

There isn’t any discussion about ending the mutual aid agreements between the area departments.

The three other measures on the ballot — two continuing levies from Benton County Fire District 2 and a bond from Benton County Fire District 4 — each passed by more than 60 percent.

This story was originally published August 8, 2018 at 12:55 PM.