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Benton County Fire District 4 Plans Public Meetings for Lid Lift


Deputy Chief Carlyle Welcomes Invitations to Speak to Community Groups

Benton County Fire District 4 is hosting two public meetings to answer questions about its proposed Fire Levy lid lift. Ballots for the August 4 Primary Election will be mailed on July 17. Meetings are planned for July 16 and July 23 at 6:00 p.m.

Participants can call 571-748-4021 and enter the pass code 977-1116. Deputy Chief Paul Carlyle will provide an update about the ballot measure. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions after his brief presentation.

Deputy Chief Carlyle also welcomes opportunities to present about the lid lift to community service organizations and home owner association groups. Interested parties can contact him at (509) 967-2945 or pcarlyle@bcfd4.org to schedule a presentation.

“COVID-19 has limited our ability to see community members other than on emergency calls. We miss that personal connection,” said Deputy Chief Carlyle. “I’m learning a lot about virtual meetings, and hope people will invite us to make a presentation to their community groups or ask questions during our virtual meetings.”

Benton County Fire District 4 is asking voters to approve a Fire Levy lid lift of 15-cents per $1,000 of assessed property value during the August Primary. Funding would be used to hire three additional firefighters to respond to higher call volumes, which have increased 78.3 percent since 2010 (almost eight percent per year).

The lid lift would be an additional $3.75 per month (or $45 per year) for the owner of a $300,000 home, which is an average for the area. If approved by voters, the Fire Levy would return to $1.50/$1,000 from the current rate of $1.35. Voters last approved a Fire Levy rate of $1.50/$1,000 in 2015. Levy rates fall as property values rise to limit a fire district to roughly the same amount of revenue per year.

More information about the Fire Levy lid lift can be found on the Fire District’s website at www.bcfd4.org.

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