Fire District Serving Edmonds Announces More Layoffs

Four firefighters at Snohomish County Fire District 1, which serves Edmonds and Woodway, have been given notices that they could be laid off as early as Feb. 15.

“We hope to come up with a solution before that date to allow these firefighters to stay on the job. They are valued employees who have served our citizens well,” said Fire Chief Ed Widdis. “Unfortunately, there aren’t any easy answers when we are facing a drop in property tax revenue of more than 12 percent this year with more of the same expected in 2013.”

Fire District 1 employs 190 firefighters and staffs 12 fire stations, serving 225,000 residents. It also serves unincorporated south Snohomish County, Brier and Mountlake Terrace.

Property taxes are the primary source of funding for district operations. As home values have declined at an unprecedented rate over the past two years, so have property tax revenues in Fire District 1.

The district has already implemented major cutbacks. through a combination of retirements and layoffs. An across-the-board reduction of nearly 12 percent in general fund program expenditures was also part of the $35.8 million budget for 2012 adopted by the Board of Commissioners in December.

Up until now, Fire District 1 had been able to avoid cutbacks in firefighting staff. In addition to the four layoffs under consideration, three vacant firefighter positions are slated to be eliminated.

Widdis said between now and Feb. 15 he will continue to explore other ways to reduce costs without having to implement the layoffs.

“Our top priority is to maintain the fire and emergency medical response the public has come to expect,” Widdis said. “We’re hoping we can find a way to keep these four firefighters on the job and serving our citizens.”