Mukilteo, WA — The Mukilteo City Council passed a resolution on April 15 to place an emergency medical services (EMS) levy renewal on the August primary election ballot. The purpose of the ballot proposition is to restore funding for EMS to the previously voter-approved amount of $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
In 2010, voters approved an EMS levy rate of $0.50. Since then, the rate has dropped to $0.28. The EMS levy renewal would fund emergency medical services, additional personnel to respond to higher call volumes, training, equipment, and medical supplies.
“EMS is our most widely used service – and our call volumes are increasing. We need to add six firefighters/EMTs to respond to calls and reduce response times,” Fire Chief Glen Albright said. “We must also maintain consistent funding for equipment replacement and ambulances so we can ensure service reliability when responding to calls.”
“I am very pleased to see the City Council place the EMS levy renewal on the August ballot,” Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine said. “Costs for our fire department continue to rise, while our EMS levy rate continues to decrease year after year.”
For more information, contact Nick Nehring, the City’s Communications & Outreach Coordinator, at nnehring@mukilteowa.gov.
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