Fire District Merger

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PEND OREILLE COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT NO. 3

Fire District Merger Information

» Why Consolidate?

Your support of the fire district merger brings many advantages to you and the community. The most evident of these would be increased level of service. By drawing on a greater number of volunteers and resources, we will have the ability to more effectively serve you in the event of an emergency. Additionally, consolidation brings greater efficiency and less waste of the tax dollars that you spend on this public service. 

The Fire Service administration appreciates your upcoming support towards the consolidation. If you ever have any questions during the process, please give us a call. We would like to hear what you are think about the merger process. We’d also like to have the opportunity to address any concerns you may have. Change can be a dramatic event. By having insight and awareness, we approach issues with confidence and power.

 » Fire District Consolidation

Consolidation and Merger are two words that have been discussed and essentially represent the same process. Legally, we are seeking a merger of the Fire Service agencies in Pend Oreille County. This is completed by a vote of the registered voters. Pend Oreille Fire District 3 will act as the merger district and others will be the merging districts. With a 60% vote of approval, the merger districts become one entity.

Many benefits are expected from the merger process. Some of the benefits would be realized immediately while others will  improve over the long term.

s Increased Level of Service; includes more responders and resources

s Increased efficiency of tax revenue use

s Greater grant opportunities

s Safer operations

s Expanded capabilities

s One common vision and goal

s One point of contact

s Equal level of service across area

» Effective Leadership

Effective Leadership is one element that sets apart some of our fire districts. While many of our smaller fire districts have effective leaders, there are limitations placed upon them. The greatest of those is lack of time. Full-time Leadership has greater opportunities to effectively administer the district and ensure we provide effective service to the entire community.  Winning teams  show increased levels of service and success with effective leadership. This effectiveness is a result of experience and knowledge gained from the professional service.

» Increased Level of Service

The merger of the fire service in Pend Oreille County nearly guarantees an increase in the level of service for  all of the existing districts. With improved resource deployment plans and effective dispatch of resources to an incident, you will realize a quicker response with qualified responders in the appropriate numbers with the right equipment. With the merger districts operating as a single entity, we draw upon a larger number of available volunteers available to respond at all times of the day and night. With added fulltime support, even day time requests will be met in a time efficient manner.

Our special service operations that include both emergent and non-emergent services will increase in availability and quality. This will include fire safety education, fire inspection and investigation support, training for the community and special rescue operations.

» Increased Efficiency of Tax Revenue Use

Pend Oreille Fire Districts operate primarily on a budget received from property tax revenues. These revenues are based upon the assessed value of your property as set by the county Assessor. The fire district is considered a Junior taxing district and is limited by law on the level of collection. The projected budget for the  consolidated fire district is based upon a levy rate of 86¢ / $1000  of assessed value. That means that the annual cost for Fire and EMS service for  a $150,000 property costs only $129.

As a consolidated district we will increase efficiency by eliminating duplicate efforts, improve effectiveness of service delivery with improved response plans, use cost effective measures for apparatus and equipment improvements and continue to use the grant process to improve our service delivery. 

The effective use of your taxes, while improving service, is one of the reasons mergers make sense in today’s growing and changing times.

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