Voters in Yachats fire district approve new, larger operating levy

YACHATS — Voters this week approved the Yachats Rural Fire Protection District’s request for a new, large operating levy by a wide margin.

After three days of counting, the vote Thursday afternoon was 951 to 689 to approve a levy of $1.59 per $1,000 assessed property value.

The district’s current levy of 59 cents per $1,000 expires in June and the district sought a $1 increase because it currently runs out of money for 4-5 months and is forced to borrow to pay employees and other costs. A similar request – but keeping the 59 cent levy for one year – was defeated handily in November 2021.

The district said a defeat Tuesday could have resulted in the layoff of up to three firefighters and possible loss of service by South Lincoln Ambulance, a nonprofit service controlled by two district administrators which uses Yachats firefighter/medics for staff.

The district’s current general fund operating budget is $1.33 million a year and comes from a permanent tax base and two voter-approved levies. In total, the three current levies add up to a tax rate of $1.49 per $1,000 assessed property value or $447 a year on property assessed at $300,000.

Because the 59 cent levy expires June 30, the effective tax rate will increase by $1 per $1,000 assessed property value. The district’s total tax rate – with the new, larger levy – will be $2.49, costing the owner of $300,000 worth of property $747 a year.

With the addition of the district’s building bond of 68 cents per $1,000, the total yearly property tax would be $951 on property assessed at $300,000. Bond money can’t be used for year-to-year operating expenses.

The levy approved this week takes effect July 1, 2023 and will appear on property tax bills next November.

The district estimates the new levy would generate $1.02 million in fiscal 2023-24, rising gradually to $1.17 million in 2027-28 when it would expire or have to be renewed.

Between the tax base and a second levy, the district projected this summer it would have total revenue of $1.58 million in fiscal 2023-24 and leave the district with a cash carryover of $242,000 its first year. Its current cash carryover is $146,000. But even with the new levy, the cash carryover slowly declines and goes negative in 2026-27.