Facts behind the fire fee

Regarding: “Being taxed out of our means” (Feb. 5, Kent Reporter):

In his letter to the opinion column in the Kent Reporter, Mr. Monte Fugate leads one to believe that his total annual fire fee, consisting of a tax and fire benefit charge (FBC), is excessive and pricing him out of his home.

Let’s look at the facts:

Fact: The Kent Regional Fire Authority FBC is a two-part funding system with both a tax and a fee. The 2016 tax levy rate has eroded from $1 per thousand dollars of assessed value to $0.906 per thousand in 2016. The tax portion of the FBC funding system is based upon assessed value and the FBC is based upon size and use of the structures on a piece of property. The basic premise of the FBC is the larger the structure and the riskier the use, the more that structure will pay in the fee portion of the funding system.

Fact: Larger structures when subjected to fire require more firefighters and resources to extinguish then smaller structures. This is the reason that larger homes pay more benefit charge than smaller ones.

Fact: Ranked from largest to smallest of the 36,602 homes in the RFA FBC service area, Mr. Fugate’s home is tied for 109th in size at 6,150 square feet. This total is comprised of his home with 5,050 square feet and a workshop/garage of 1,100 square feet. 99.7 percent of all of the housing stock in the Kent RFA has total square footage that is less than Mr. Fugate’s home and accessory garage. This means that 99.7 percent of all FBC charges are less than Mr. Fugate’s because of the extraordinary size of his home and garages.

Fact: The total assessed tax value of Mr. Fugate’s home ranks 2,047th out of 36,602 homes which places his home in the top 6 percent in value to all homes in the Kent RFA. This high value also produces a tax bill in the top 6 percent.

Fact: Mr. Fugate’s total FBC system charges, which consist of the tax and fee for 2016, are $1,142.97, which ranks 362 out of the total 36,602 home properties in the Kent RFA.

Fact: Based upon size and charges per square foot of home and garage, Mr. Fugate pays less per square foot than the average of any other home category at 18.6 cents per square foot. By contrast, the owner of the average small home pays 24 cents per square foot.

Fact: The Kent RFA’s FBC provides discount to citizens over 61 years old with low incomes. These exemptions come in three sizes, a full discount reduces the FBC by 75 percent, a partial discount reduces the FBC amount by 50 percent and a standard discount reduces the FBC by 25 percent. Mr. Fugate has not qualified for low-income exemptions that are managed by King County.

– Ray Shjerven, president, Kent Firefighters IAFF Local 1747