Letter to the Editor: Firefighters support Prop 1 for Regional Fire Authority
Monday, January 20, 2025
A Regional Fire Authority for Shoreline, Kenmore & Lake Forest Park
As firefighters and first responders serving Shoreline, Kenmore, and Lake Forest Park, we strongly support Proposition 1, a measure on the February 11, 2025 special election ballot to create a Regional Fire Authority (RFA). This proposition ensures that the successful partnership between the Shoreline and Northshore Fire Departments continues, bringing enhanced emergency services and cost savings to our communities for decades to come.
Since 2022, our firefighters and departments have been collaborating under an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) to share resources and personnel. This partnership has already resulted in significant improvements, including enhanced technical and water rescue capabilities, strengthened fire prevention services, expanded Mobile Integrated Health teams, and increased aid car availability. Additionally, Kenmore and Lake Forest Park residents now receive emergency medical transport from their own firefighters, rather than relying on a third-party service.
The RFA would make these improvements permanent, ensuring continued efficiency, stability, and security for our community's emergency services. Without the RFA, there’s a risk that changes in leadership could dissolve the current partnership, leading to costly disruptions in our emergency response systems, and level of services provided. Such a separation would force both departments to restructure, reallocating resources in a way that would ultimately burden taxpayers.
We’ve spent the past two years working side by side, training together, responding to emergencies, and building shared protocols. This collaboration has strengthened our team, directly benefiting our communities. Dissolving this integrated system would not only break apart our firefighter family but also jeopardize the high standard of service that our residents expect and deserve.
We urge voters to support the RFA to help secure the future of these vital services. Proposition 1 will preserve and expand upon the improvements we've made, while maintaining fiscal responsibility. This is a critical step in ensuring the long-term sustainability of our fire and emergency medical services.
A broad and diverse group of community members agree: the Regional Fire Authority will create a safer, stronger future for us all.
Endorsers: Shoreline Professional Firefighters Local 1760; City Councils of Shoreline, Kenmore, and Lake Forest Park; State Senators Jesse Salomon and Derek Stanford; State Representatives Lauren Davis, Cindy Ryu, Shelly Kloba and Davina Duerr; King County Councilmembers Rod Dembowski and Sarah Perry; Former Lake Forest Park Deputy Mayor Phillippa Kassover; Former Kenmore City Councilmember Corina Pfeil; Kenmore Planning Commission Chair Tracy Banaszynski; Kenmore Planning Commissioner David Dorrian; People for an Environmentally Responsible Kenmore (PERK) Board Member Peter Lance; Evergreen Health Board of Directors; and the 1st Legislative District Democrats.
For more information, please visit the Shoreline Fire Department's Regional Fire Authority page: https://shorelinefire.com/rfa/, and the Firefighters for Shoreline Northshore RFA website https://yesrfa.org/
Erik Ingraham
Shoreline Professional Firefighters Local 1760
YesforShorelineRFA@gmail.com
As firefighters and first responders serving Shoreline, Kenmore, and Lake Forest Park, we strongly support Proposition 1, a measure on the February 11, 2025 special election ballot to create a Regional Fire Authority (RFA). This proposition ensures that the successful partnership between the Shoreline and Northshore Fire Departments continues, bringing enhanced emergency services and cost savings to our communities for decades to come.
Since 2022, our firefighters and departments have been collaborating under an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) to share resources and personnel. This partnership has already resulted in significant improvements, including enhanced technical and water rescue capabilities, strengthened fire prevention services, expanded Mobile Integrated Health teams, and increased aid car availability. Additionally, Kenmore and Lake Forest Park residents now receive emergency medical transport from their own firefighters, rather than relying on a third-party service.
The RFA would make these improvements permanent, ensuring continued efficiency, stability, and security for our community's emergency services. Without the RFA, there’s a risk that changes in leadership could dissolve the current partnership, leading to costly disruptions in our emergency response systems, and level of services provided. Such a separation would force both departments to restructure, reallocating resources in a way that would ultimately burden taxpayers.
We’ve spent the past two years working side by side, training together, responding to emergencies, and building shared protocols. This collaboration has strengthened our team, directly benefiting our communities. Dissolving this integrated system would not only break apart our firefighter family but also jeopardize the high standard of service that our residents expect and deserve.
We urge voters to support the RFA to help secure the future of these vital services. Proposition 1 will preserve and expand upon the improvements we've made, while maintaining fiscal responsibility. This is a critical step in ensuring the long-term sustainability of our fire and emergency medical services.
A broad and diverse group of community members agree: the Regional Fire Authority will create a safer, stronger future for us all.
Endorsers: Shoreline Professional Firefighters Local 1760; City Councils of Shoreline, Kenmore, and Lake Forest Park; State Senators Jesse Salomon and Derek Stanford; State Representatives Lauren Davis, Cindy Ryu, Shelly Kloba and Davina Duerr; King County Councilmembers Rod Dembowski and Sarah Perry; Former Lake Forest Park Deputy Mayor Phillippa Kassover; Former Kenmore City Councilmember Corina Pfeil; Kenmore Planning Commission Chair Tracy Banaszynski; Kenmore Planning Commissioner David Dorrian; People for an Environmentally Responsible Kenmore (PERK) Board Member Peter Lance; Evergreen Health Board of Directors; and the 1st Legislative District Democrats.
For more information, please visit the Shoreline Fire Department's Regional Fire Authority page: https://shorelinefire.com/rfa/, and the Firefighters for Shoreline Northshore RFA website https://yesrfa.org/
Erik Ingraham
Shoreline Professional Firefighters Local 1760
YesforShorelineRFA@gmail.com
6 comments:
yet another ruse for increasing fees and taxes and contributing to the exhorbitant cost of living in King County, dont be deceived by the greed of governance !
After the new RFA board is established, how will future board members be elected? Are there seats reserved for LFP/Kenmore residents, or will seats be elected across the RFA area?
Voting YES for the RFA has nothing to do with increasing fees or taxes. The mechanisms for funding the fire Department are approved by voters when Fire or EMS Levy appear on ballots for voters to decide on. The RFA is about efficiency, and has already shown an increase in service to citizens across the proposed RFA.
If approved, the current Boards of Commissioners (5 each, from Shoreline and Northshore) will combine, having a 10 person board. It’s up to the Board of Commissioners to decide if/how to change the governance model in the future, but currently each position is voted on by voters in their specific district.
Is this measure different than the proposed merger agreement that came up for a previous vote and was defeated. In that measure the firefighter's opposed the measure while commissioners supported it. What is different this time?
I have not heard or read anything regarding this RFA and the Fire Benefit Charge that Shoreline residents already pay annually on their property tax. The Fire Benefit Charge is calculated on the square footage of the residence. If the RFA is approved, does the Fire Benefit Charge go away. Can anyone answer that? So far, my take is that the only people that may benefit from the RFA are the people of the Northshore District. (Lake Forest Park and Kenmore) I see no benefits for the people of Shoreline. (Unless they feel that a new fireboat on Lake Washington will make them feel more secure)
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