Skip to main content

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.

Popular posts from this blog

Benton County Fire District 4 to Hold Budget Meetings - Public Invited to Participate

Benton County Fire District 4 is starting its annual budget process for 2021. Members of the public are invited to participate at two upcoming meetings with the Board of Fire Commissioners: ·         Thursday, October 22 at 6 p.m. – This is a budget workshop where funding issues are discussed. ·         Thursday, November 5 at 6 p.m. – This is a public hearing and the Board is expected to take action on the budget for 2021. Due to the current pandemic, all meetings are held by conference call. To participate in the meetings, call 571-748-4021 and enter the pass code 977-1116. The fire district would like to share information as to how it develops its annual budget. First, it determines the revenue it will receive based on assessed property values combined with its levies for fire and emergency medical service. Then, an executive team works with emergency personnel to develop a list of priorities based on call ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chief Bill Whealan Retires from Benton County Fire District 4

February 8, 2021 marks the official retirement of Fire Chief Bill Whealan from Benton County Fire District 4. Chief Whealan’s fire service career spans almost four decades, the last nine years of which he served as Fire Chief for the agency that serves 20,000 people in the city of West Richland and its immediate unincorporated areas. Chief Whealan moved to Benton County in 2011 from Hemet, Calif. where he served as its Interim Fire Chief. In total, Chief Whealan has 25 years of his career in chief officer level positions in Nev., Calif., and Wash. He says that one of his greatest accomplishments during this time is not having any firefighter deaths or serious injuries under his watch. “That’s what this is about. Saving lives and property and bringing your people through each call safely,” said Chief Whealan. “There’s no greater accomplishment than that.” While at Benton 4, Chief Whealan increased the standards of medical evaluations for emergency personnel that were credited with s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Letter: BENTON DISTRICT 4 CALL VOLUME HIGHER (Tri-city Herald 2/11/21)

We wanted to report back to our community about 2020 emergency call volumes for Benton County Fire District No. 4. In 2020, personnel responded to 1,686 calls, almost 5% higher than 2019. Emergency medical service (EMS) accounted for 67% of all calls. Benton 4 serves 20,000 people over 52 square miles, including the city of West Richland and its immediate unincorporated areas. We are independent of the city and county, and receive funding from a fire levy and an EMS levy paid through property taxes. In 2020, voters approved a fire levy lid lift to hire three full-time firefighters to respond to higher call volumes. These positions have been filled, and we’re seeing faster response times as a result. Voters also approved a bond in 2018 to build and equip a new fire station. That project is near completion, and we look forward to welcoming our community to the facility when it’s safe to do so. We appreciate the support of our community, and thank you for the opportunity to serve you and ...
Post a Comment
Read more