What would it cost?

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Proposition No. 1 is a proposed six-year EMS levy at a rate of $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value, with collection beginning in 2027. The levy revenue would be used for emergency medical services, including related personnel, training, equipment, supplies, vehicles, and structures needed to provide EMS.

 

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SCFD3’s current regular fire levy rate is $1.48 per $1,000. If the $0.50 rate EMS levy were approved, the estimated combined rate would be $1.98 per $1,000.

 

What would residents get?
 

If approved, the EMS levy would provide dedicated funding to hire 14 full-time firefighter/EMTs. The current staffing plan includes 12 line positions and 2 officer positions. All 14 positions would be able to operate in emergency response capacity.

 

The district’s current plan is to add 24-hour staffing in two priority areas:

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Central district / Cheney area. Preferred location: Station 31

 

Southeast district / Spangle area. Preferred location: Station 36

 

Today, SCFD3’s 24-hour staffed stations are Station 33 in Four Lakes and Station 311 in Medical Lake. The levy-funded plan would move the district toward at least four staffed response locations, while keeping volunteers as an essential part of the response system.

 

Why is this important?
 

Most SCFD3 emergency calls are medical calls- approximately 75% of all emergencies. However, SCFD3 does not operate as an ambulance-only service. District firefighter/EMTs provide emergency medical care and also respond to fires, wildland fires, vehicle crashes, rescues, hazardous materials incidents, and other emergencies.

 

The EMS levy is legally dedicated to EMS. The people providing that EMS response are firefighter/EMTs who work inside SCFD3’s all-hazard emergency response system.

 

The levy funds EMS response capacity. The responders providing that EMS care are firefighters who also respond to fires, rescues, crashes, wildland incidents, and other emergencies.

 

Why add staffing?

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Volunteers continue to provide a significant level of service.  SCFD3’s current response model was built around limited career staffing and a large volunteer response system. That model has served the district for years, but it is no longer keeping pace with today’s emergency demand.

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That model has served the district well, but it is becoming harder to sustain. Emergency call volume continues to increase, while the demands placed on volunteers have grown beyond what a primarily volunteer response model can reliably absorb.

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Career staffing is intended to provide reliable 24-hour response capacity while reducing routine response pressure on volunteers and preserving volunteer availability for structure fires, wildland fires, simultaneous incidents, extended operations, and larger emergencies.

 

What difference would more staffed stations make?
 

Modeling shows that adding two additional staffed stations would improve coverage within the district's target drive time from 65% to 73%—allowing firefighters to reach more than 700 additional emergency calls within that target drive time.

SCFD3 uses emergency call data and drive-time modeling to evaluate where staffed resources can provide the greatest districtwide benefit. Based on 2022–2024 analyzed call data, the current two-station staffed model using Stations 33 and 311 reached 5,988 of 9,115 analyzed calls within an 8.5-minute drive time (65%). A four-station model using Stations 31, 33, 36, and 311 reached 6,714 analyzed calls within the same drive time (73%). Within a 15-minute drive time, the four-station model reached 8,733 analyzed calls (95%).

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These figures measure drive time only. Total response time also includes call processing, dispatch, turnout time, travel, and other operational factors.

 

How soon would staffing change?
 

Staffing increases would not occur immediately following voter approval of the levy. Instead, SCFD3 would begin implementing a phased hiring and training plan designed to ensure new personnel are successfully integrated into the organization. The District will also actively pursue grant funding and other funding opportunities to help offset implementation costs and potentially accelerate hiring.
 

Based on current planning, it is estimated that building a fully trained workforce would take approximately 21 months, allowing time for grant opportunities, recruitment, hiring, firefighter academy training, and field development.

These timelines are planning estimates and may be adjusted based on grant availability, hiring conditions, academy scheduling, labor processes, and the operational needs of the District. This measured approach helps ensure the district maintains high training standards while responsibly managing public resources.

 

Best short summary:
 

The proposed Emergency Medical Services levy would cost about $4.17 per month for each $100,000 of assessed property value. If approved, SCFD3 would use the funding to hire 14 firefighter/EMS personnel and staff two additional stations 24 hours a day. Current planning is focused on Station 31 in Cheney and Station 36 in Spangle, but these stations would be part of the districtwide response system, not resources for only those communities.
 

SCFD3’s current response model was built around limited career staffing and a large volunteer response system. That model has served the district for years, but it is no longer keeping pace with today’s emergency demand. Call volume, staffing limitations, training requirements, and operating costs have outpaced the current system, while volunteer and career firefighters are being asked to cover more emergencies with limited resources. When crews are already committed, pulled across long distances, or multiple emergencies happen at the same time, the whole district feels the impact. Volunteers are also being requested more often on top of training, work, and family responsibilities, making the volunteer side of the system harder to sustain.
 

The levy is legally dedicated to EMS. SCFD3 provides EMS through firefighter/EMTs who also respond to fires, rescues, vehicle crashes, wildland fires, and other emergencies. The goal is to maintain and improve emergency services, keep crews better positioned across the district, make volunteer service more manageable and sustainable, and expand 24-hour staffed response coverage for the entire service area.