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Home My WebLink About2023-07 Hazelnut Newsletter Special Edition - Fire Annexation - Volume 43 No. 4111111 reV- N A City of Tukwila publication far residential and business communities SPECIAL EDITIO --JULY 2023 J`„ F VOLUME 43, NUMBER 4 Tu(wikt: Tke City of Opportunity, tke Community of Ckoice w Tukwila voters to decide on annexation to the Puget Sound Fire Authority In the upcoming August 1 primary election, the City of Tukwila will ask voters to consider formally annexing to the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority (Puget Sound Fire) for fire and emergency medical services. Proposition 1 states: Should the City of Tukwila be annexed into and be a part of the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority to maintain current fire and emergency medical services levels, effective January 1, 2024, per City of Tukwila Resolution No. 2070? The proposition requires a simple majority to pass. Effective January 1, 2023, the City of Tukwila began contracting with Puget Sound Fire for Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Prior to that, for seven months a Community Advisory Committee studied the future of fire and EMS in Tukwila. They recommended the contract to serve as a bridge to a potential full annexation into Puget Sound Fire. The consensus of the Committee was that annexation would both preserve Tukwila's high level of Fire and EMS, and provide the ability to maintain other services that are desired by the Tukwila community. Why annexation Annexation to the Puget Sound Fire Authority allows the City to maintain stable and sustainable Fire/EMS and response times in Tukwila. Joining the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority also allows the City of Tukwila to have enhanced services, including: ► The community injury and mental health support and prevention program FD CARES, providing non -emergency medical services, and connecting residents to community resources that meet their needs better than a 911 response; ► Dedicated community relations and public education programs, providing civic groups, schools, businesses and residents with fire and life safety training and community engagement resources; and ► A larger Fire Marshal Office, reducing the time it takes to receive fire -related building permits, and providing fire prevention and safety guidance through routine fire inspections. Annexation also allows the City the option to maintain other key City services and avoid budget cuts that could reduce or eliminate programs, such as recreation, street cleaning and litter pick up, police staffing, human services funding, fire and EMS, communications, rental housing inspections, parking enforcement, and investments in infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Annexation will place three City of Tukwila Council members on the Governing Board of Puget Sound Fire, providing voting representation for the Tukwila Community (the current contract for fire services does not allow for voting members to represent Tukwila). Election information Ballots will be mailed to Tukwila registered voters on July 12, prior to the August 1, 2023 election date. To register to vote, visit OLVR.VoteWA.gov or visit the King County Elections Office in Renton to register in person (KingCounty.gov/Elections). The deadline for registering to vote is July 24 online and August 1 in person. What is a Regional Fire Authority and Fire Benefit Charge? Regional Fire Authorities were created by the State of Washington to fully fund Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS), which are expensive yet vital to the health of the community. Fire and EMS in Tukwila currently make up 21% of the City's departmental budget, and are the second highest expense after Police services. Renton, Auburn, Kent, Federal Way and other cities throughout the County and State have annexed into Regional Fire Authorities to allow for better economies of scale and to fully fund these essential services. Regional Fire Authorities were created to ensure funding stability and sustainability of fire and EMS, and they have funding options not available to cities. Regional Fire Authorities use two separate funding mechanisms, a property tax levy and a Fire Benefit Charge. If annexation is passed by the voters, the Fire Benefit Charge and Puget Sound Fire levy would begin January 1, 2025. The Fire Benefit Charge is a fee that is based on the resources needed to extinguish a fire and is part of their two-part funding system that ensures growing communities can maintain high quality fire and life safety services. The Fire Benefit Charge is based on structure size, use and risk, which means that properties that require more fire protection resources pay more for the service. For example, a commercial office building or single-family home will have a smaller Fire Benefit Charge than an industrial location that houses flammable or other hazardous chemicals, even if they were the same size. Discounts on the Fire Benefit Charge are available for monitored alarms, fire sprinkler systems, senior/disabled property owners, and for agricultural enterprises. Regional Fire Authorities are led by a Governing Board. In order for a jurisdiction to have representation on the Governing Board, the voters must approve the formal annexation. Upon voters approval of the City annexing into Puget Sound Fire, Tukwila would have three of the nine representatives on the Puget Sound Fire Governing Board. This would be the same number of representatives as the City of Kent and Fire District #37 have. Puget Sound Fire FD CARES Program Puget Sound Fire uses a FD CARES unit to respond to non -emergency calls for assistance. FD CARES - which stands for Fire Department Community Assistance, Referrals, and Education Services - is a specialized unit staffed with a registered nurse and a social worker. The FD CARES staff work alongside firefighters to address the underlying cause for residents who frequently call 9-1-1 for non -emergency assistance. As of January 1, FD CARES is actively supporting families in Tukwila. The registered nurses can provide many services, such as offer medical assistance, discuss medications and interactions, assess fall risks, and develop long-term care plans. Over the years, this part of the program has been very successful and helped a lot of people. There are other needs that were difficult to efficiently address, such as mental and behavioral health issues, drug and alcohol addiction issues and food and housing insecurities. A licensed social worker has the skills to assist these patients, and has been added to the FD CARES team. By adding a licensed social worker, the FD CARES team can address patient's medical needs as well as behavioral health, drug and alcohol addiction issues. Puget Sound Fire's FD CARES team has professionally and compassionately assisted residents of the communities they serve with the assistance they need. This has proven to be a win-win for everyone. The residents have been connected with the needed resources, and no longer are reliant on the 9-1-1 system for non -emergency assistance. This keeps firefighters available to respond to emergent 9-1-1 calls such as heart attacks, strokes, motor vehicle accidents, and fires. The FD CARES program is available to residents in the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority's service area, including the cities of Covington, Enumclaw, Kent, Maple Valley, SeaTac, Tukwila, and King County Fire Districts #37 and #43. 2 THE HAZELNUT - SPECIAL EDITION 34.9% Tukwila School District 23.3% Washington State 22.5% City of Tukwila 10.2% King County 'l'TI,J!i ty rt 7)115 NOLE IS LEGAL TENDI FOR ALL pESTS, PUBLIC qND PI H312 L149560866 I 12 ±�.41'i4... TUKWILA PROPERTY TAX DISTRIBUTION Tukwila's structural budget imbalance The costs of maintaining City services have been rising faster than revenues, while Tukwila community members continue to expect a high level of diverse municipal services. Over the years the City has made modest increases to business taxes, and slowed the rate of the growth of many expenses, while also identifying and implementing cost-saving measures. The 2023/2024 biennial budget is balanced and was largely made so by using one-time funds that will not again be available in the coming biennium. The one-time funds were used to preserve existing 2022-2023 services into 2023 and 2024, knowing that Tukwila voters would determine whether the City annexes to Puget Sound Fire. Should annexation occur, the City will have additional tools to determine the level of City services in 2025 and beyond. Annexation would allow for existing property tax capacity, some of which could be used to balance the next biennial budget, allowing existing service levels to be maintained. Without annexation, various City services in Tukwila would likely need to be reduced or eliminated. Future determinations of service levels and levels of property tax and other revenues will be made by the City Council in 2024 during their biennial budget process. The City will involve the community in this process. One way is a financial sustainability task force that will start meeting this summer, with recommendations planned in 2024. Through the budget process, the Tukwila Community will be able to provide input to the Council on the appropriate balance between services and revenues. 0.7% Flood Control Property tax distribution The City of Tukwila receives less than a quarter of a property owner's overall property tax bill. The graphic above shows the distribution of property taxes, including the percent that is received by the City of Tukwila. The majority of property taxes pay for public schools (including those funds listed as going to Washington State). For more information The vote on Tukwila's Proposition 1 is part of the Tuesday, August 1 primary election. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Vicky Carlsen at 206-433-1839, orVicky.Carlsen@TukwilaWA.gov. JULY2023 3 THE HAZELNUT City of Tukwila 6200 Southcenter Blvd. Tukwila, WA 98188 MAILING ADDRESS I PRESORT STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SEATTLE, WA PERMIT NO. 12698 Postmaster: If named addressee has moved, deliver to current resident. To help us correct addresses or eliminate duplicates, please call 206-454-7573. INFORMATION FROM THE CITY REGARDING THE UPCOMING ELECTION MACLUUMAADKA MAGAALADA KU SAABSAN DOORASHOOYINKA S00 SOCDA Si aad u tarjunto, tag TukwilaWA.gov/RFAvote oo guji halkan INFORMACION DE LA CIUDAD SOBRE LAS PROXIMAS ELECCIONES Para traducir, vaya a TukwilaWA.gov/RFAvote y haga clic aqui THONG TIN TI'THANH PHO VE CUOC Ball di SAP TM De' Bich, hay truy cap TukwilaWA.gov/RFAvote va nhap vao clay Translate Please look inside for important information. TUKWILA CITY HALL 6200 Southcenter Boulevard City Hall campus in-person hours: Monday/Wednesday/Thursday, 8:30AM-4:00PM Phone: 206-433-1800 Fax: 206-433-1833 Email: Tukwila@TukwilaWA.gov Website: TukwilaWA.gov MAYOR Allan Ekberg 206-433-1850 Mayor's Office Administration Offices 206-433-1850 David Cline, CityAdministrator206-433-1851 Economic Development 206-433-1832 Administrative Services City Clerk's Office 206-433-1800 Human Resources - Personnel206-433-1831 Human Services 206-433-7181 Community Engagement 206-454-7564 Technology Services 206-454-7575 Community Development Dept. Nora Gierloff, Director 206-431-3670 Code Enforcement 206-431-3682 Finance Department Vicky Carlsen, Director 206-433-1835 Parks/Recreation Department Pete Mayer, Director 206-767-2342 Police Department Eric Dreyer, Chief 206-433-7175 Mindi Mattson, Emergency Mgr206-971-8750 Public Works Department Hari Ponnekanti, Director 206-433-0179 Emergency - Fire, Police 911 MUNICIPAL COURT 15005 Tukwila International Blvd 206-433-1840 TUKWILA COMMUNITY CENTER 12424 - 42nd Avenue South Recreation Division 206-768-2822 Senior Center/Services 206-767-2323 FOSTER GOLF LINKS 13500 Interurban Avenue South Pro Shop 206-242-4221 PUGET SOUND REGIONAL FIRE AUTHORITY All fire -related services 253-856-4300 PugetSoundFire.org TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL Cynthia Delostrinos Johnson, Pres206-595-5469 C.DelostrinosJohnson@TukwilaWA.gov Kathy Hougardy 206-571-0007 Kathy.Hougardy@TukwilaWA.gov De'Sean Quinn 206-331-5939 Desean.Quinn@TukwilaWA.gov Kate Kruller 206-678-7885 Kate.Kruller@TukwilaWA.gov Thomas McLeod, President 206-492-4821 Thomas.Mcleod@TukwilaWA.gov Mohamed Abdi 206-798-4872 Mohamed.Abdi@TukwilaWA.gov Tosh Sharp 206 507-6440 Tosh.Sharp@TukwilaWA.gov To email the entire Council at once: CityCouncil@TukwilaWA.gov Laurel Humphrey, Analyst 206-433-8993 CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS 7:OOPM in Council Chambers Regular Meetings 1st/3rd Mondays Committee of the Whole 2nd/4th Mondays 111111 reV- N A City of Tukwila publication far residential and business communities SPECIAL EDITIO --JULY 2023 J`„ F VOLUME 43, NUMBER 4 Tu(wikt: Tke City of Opportunity, tke Community of Ckoice w Tukwila voters to decide on annexation to the Puget Sound Fire Authority In the upcoming August 1 primary election, the City of Tukwila will ask voters to consider formally annexing to the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority (Puget Sound Fire) for fire and emergency medical services. Proposition 1 states: Should the City of Tukwila be annexed into and be a part of the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority to maintain current fire and emergency medical services levels, effective January 1, 2024, per City of Tukwila Resolution No. 2070? The proposition requires a simple majority to pass. Effective January 1, 2023, the City of Tukwila began contracting with Puget Sound Fire for Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Prior to that, for seven months a Community Advisory Committee studied the future of fire and EMS in Tukwila. They recommended the contract to serve as a bridge to a potential full annexation into Puget Sound Fire. The consensus of the Committee was that annexation would both preserve Tukwila's high level of Fire and EMS, and provide the ability to maintain other services that are desired by the Tukwila community. Why annexation Annexation to the Puget Sound Fire Authority allows the City to maintain stable and sustainable Fire/EMS and response times in Tukwila. Joining the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority also allows the City of Tukwila to have enhanced services, including: ► The community injury and mental health support and prevention program FD CARES, providing non -emergency medical services, and connecting residents to community resources that meet their needs better than a 911 response; ► Dedicated community relations and public education programs, providing civic groups, schools, businesses and residents with fire and life safety training and community engagement resources; and ► A larger Fire Marshal Office, reducing the time it takes to receive fire -related building permits, and providing fire prevention and safety guidance through routine fire inspections. Annexation also allows the City the option to maintain other key City services and avoid budget cuts that could reduce or eliminate programs, such as recreation, street cleaning and litter pick up, police staffing, human services funding, fire and EMS, communications, rental housing inspections, parking enforcement, and investments in infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Annexation will place three City of Tukwila Council members on the Governing Board of Puget Sound Fire, providing voting representation for the Tukwila Community (the current contract for fire services does not allow for voting members to represent Tukwila). Election information Ballots will be mailed to Tukwila registered voters on July 12, prior to the August 1, 2023 election date. To register to vote, visit OLVR.VoteWA.gov or visit the King County Elections Office in Renton to register in person (KingCounty.gov/Elections). The deadline for registering to vote is July 24 online and August 1 in person. What is a Regional Fire Authority and Fire Benefit Charge? Regional Fire Authorities were created by the State of Washington to fully fund Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS), which are expensive yet vital to the health of the community. Fire and EMS in Tukwila currently make up 21% of the City's departmental budget, and are the second highest expense after Police services. Renton, Auburn, Kent, Federal Way and other cities throughout the County and State have annexed into Regional Fire Authorities to allow for better economies of scale and to fully fund these essential services. Regional Fire Authorities were created to ensure funding stability and sustainability of fire and EMS, and they have funding options not available to cities. Regional Fire Authorities use two separate funding mechanisms, a property tax levy and a Fire Benefit Charge. If annexation is passed by the voters, the Fire Benefit Charge and Puget Sound Fire levy would begin January 1, 2025. The Fire Benefit Charge is a fee that is based on the resources needed to extinguish a fire and is part of their two-part funding system that ensures growing communities can maintain high quality fire and life safety services. The Fire Benefit Charge is based on structure size, use and risk, which means that properties that require more fire protection resources pay more for the service. For example, a commercial office building or single-family home will have a smaller Fire Benefit Charge than an industrial location that houses flammable or other hazardous chemicals, even if they were the same size. Discounts on the Fire Benefit Charge are available for monitored alarms, fire sprinkler systems, senior/disabled property owners, and for agricultural enterprises. Regional Fire Authorities are led by a Governing Board. In order for a jurisdiction to have representation on the Governing Board, the voters must approve the formal annexation. Upon voters approval of the City annexing into Puget Sound Fire, Tukwila would have three of the nine representatives on the Puget Sound Fire Governing Board. This would be the same number of representatives as the City of Kent and Fire District #37 have. Puget Sound Fire FD CARES Program Puget Sound Fire uses a FD CARES unit to respond to non -emergency calls for assistance. FD CARES - which stands for Fire Department Community Assistance, Referrals, and Education Services - is a specialized unit staffed with a registered nurse and a social worker. The FD CARES staff work alongside firefighters to address the underlying cause for residents who frequently call 9-1-1 for non -emergency assistance. As of January 1, FD CARES is actively supporting families in Tukwila. The registered nurses can provide many services, such as offer medical assistance, discuss medications and interactions, assess fall risks, and develop long-term care plans. Over the years, this part of the program has been very successful and helped a lot of people. There are other needs that were difficult to efficiently address, such as mental and behavioral health issues, drug and alcohol addiction issues and food and housing insecurities. A licensed social worker has the skills to assist these patients, and has been added to the FD CARES team. By adding a licensed social worker, the FD CARES team can address patient's medical needs as well as behavioral health, drug and alcohol addiction issues. Puget Sound Fire's FD CARES team has professionally and compassionately assisted residents of the communities they serve with the assistance they need. This has proven to be a win-win for everyone. The residents have been connected with the needed resources, and no longer are reliant on the 9-1-1 system for non -emergency assistance. This keeps firefighters available to respond to emergent 9-1-1 calls such as heart attacks, strokes, motor vehicle accidents, and fires. The FD CARES program is available to residents in the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority's service area, including the cities of Covington, Enumclaw, Kent, Maple Valley, SeaTac, Tukwila, and King County Fire Districts #37 and #43. 2 THE HAZELNUT - SPECIAL EDITION 34.9% Tukwila School District 23.3% Washington State 22.5% City of Tukwila 10.2% King County 'l'TI,J!i ty rt 7)115 NOLE IS LEGAL TENDI FOR ALL pESTS, PUBLIC qND PI H312 L149560866 I 12 ±�.41'i4... TUKWILA PROPERTY TAX DISTRIBUTION Tukwila's structural budget imbalance The costs of maintaining City services have been rising faster than revenues, while Tukwila community members continue to expect a high level of diverse municipal services. Over the years the City has made modest increases to business taxes, and slowed the rate of the growth of many expenses, while also identifying and implementing cost-saving measures. The 2023/2024 biennial budget is balanced and was largely made so by using one-time funds that will not again be available in the coming biennium. The one-time funds were used to preserve existing 2022-2023 services into 2023 and 2024, knowing that Tukwila voters would determine whether the City annexes to Puget Sound Fire. Should annexation occur, the City will have additional tools to determine the level of City services in 2025 and beyond. Annexation would allow for existing property tax capacity, some of which could be used to balance the next biennial budget, allowing existing service levels to be maintained. Without annexation, various City services in Tukwila would likely need to be reduced or eliminated. Future determinations of service levels and levels of property tax and other revenues will be made by the City Council in 2024 during their biennial budget process. The City will involve the community in this process. One way is a financial sustainability task force that will start meeting this summer, with recommendations planned in 2024. Through the budget process, the Tukwila Community will be able to provide input to the Council on the appropriate balance between services and revenues. 0.7% Flood Control Property tax distribution The City of Tukwila receives less than a quarter of a property owner's overall property tax bill. The graphic above shows the distribution of property taxes, including the percent that is received by the City of Tukwila. The majority of property taxes pay for public schools (including those funds listed as going to Washington State). For more information The vote on Tukwila's Proposition 1 is part of the Tuesday, August 1 primary election. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Vicky Carlsen at 206-433-1839, orVicky.Carlsen@TukwilaWA.gov. JULY2023 3 THE HAZELNUT City of Tukwila 6200 Southcenter Blvd. Tukwila, WA 98188 MAILING ADDRESS I PRESORT STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SEATTLE, WA PERMIT NO. 12698 Postmaster: If named addressee has moved, deliver to current resident. To help us correct addresses or eliminate duplicates, please call 206-454-7573. INFORMATION FROM THE CITY REGARDING THE UPCOMING ELECTION MACLUUMAADKA MAGAALADA KU SAABSAN DOORASHOOYINKA S00 SOCDA Si aad u tarjunto, tag TukwilaWA.gov/RFAvote oo guji halkan I NFORMACION DE LA CI UDAD SOBRE LAS PROXIMAS ELECCIONES Para traducir, vaya a TukwilaWA.gov/RFAvote y haga clic aqui THONG TIN TI'THANH PHO VE CUOC Ball di SAP TM De' Bich, hay truy cap TukwilaWA.gov/RFAvote va nhap vao clay Translate Please look inside for important information. TUKWILA CITY HALL 6200 Southcenter Boulevard City Hall campus in-person hours: Monday/Wednesday/Thursday, 8:30AM-4:00PM Phone: 206-433-1800 Fax: 206-433-1833 Email: Tukwila@TukwilaWA.gov Website: TukwilaWA.gov MAYOR Allan Ekberg 206-433-1850 Mayor's Office Administration Offices 206-433-1850 David Cline, CityAdministrator206-433-1851 Economic Development 206-433-1832 Administrative Services City Clerk's Office 206-433-1800 Human Resources - Personnel206-433-1831 Human Services 206-433-7181 Community Engagement 206-454-7564 Technology Services 206-454-7575 Community Development Dept. Nora Gierloff, Director 206-431-3670 Code Enforcement 206-431-3682 Finance Department Vicky Carlsen, Director 206-433-1835 Parks/Recreation Department Pete Mayer, Director 206-767-2342 Police Department Eric Dreyer, Chief 206-433-7175 Mindi Mattson, Emergency Mgr206-971-8750 Public Works Department Hari Ponnekanti, Director 206-433-0179 Emergency - Fire, Police 911 MUNICIPAL COURT 15005 Tukwila International Blvd 206-433-1840 TUKWILA COMMUNITY CENTER 12424 - 42nd Avenue South Recreation Division 206-768-2822 Senior Center/Services 206-767-2323 FOSTER GOLF LINKS 13500 Interurban Avenue South Pro Shop 206-242-4221 PUGET SOUND REGIONAL FIRE AUTHORITY All fire -related services 253-856-4300 PugetSoundFire.org TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL Cynthia Delostrinos Johnson, Pres206-595-5469 C. DelostrinosJohnson@TukwilaWA.gov Kathy Hougardy 206-571-0007 Kathy. Hougardy@TukwilaWA.gov De'Sean Quinn 206-331-5939 Desean. Quinn @Tuk wil aWA.gov Kate Kruller 206-678-7885 Kate. Kruller@TukwilaWA.gov Thomas McLeod, President 206-492-4821 Thomas.Mcleod @TukwilaWA.gov MohamedAbdi 206-798-4872 Mo h o m e d. Ab d i @Tu k wi l a WA. g o y Tosh Sharp 206 507-6440 Tosh. Sharp@Tuk wil aWA.gov To email the entire Council at once: CityCouncil @TukwilaWA.gov Laurel Humphrey, Analyst 206-433-8993 CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS 7:OOPM in Council Chambers Regular Meetings 1st/3rd Mondays Committee of the Whole 2nd/4th Mondays