QuickTake:

Lane Fire Authority officials said rising personnel and equipment costs are driving up the need to consider asking for more property taxes from residents. 

Lane Fire Authority may ask voters to approve a property tax increase that would help it bolster its staffing and ability to respond quickly to emergencies. 

Residents served by the Lane Fire Authority can learn more at a public meeting scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, at Station 101, 88050 Territorial Road, Veneta. The authority’s board will discuss whether to place a local option levy renewal and increase on the November ballot. 

Lane Fire Authority provides emergency medical services and fire suppression in western Lane County. Its fire service area serves more than 45,000 residents in a 282-square-mile region west, northwest and southwest of Eugene. The ambulance service area is 425 miles and includes Lake Creek, Junction City, most of Harrisburg and parts of Monroe and Santa Clara. 

In 2023, the authority responded to more than 7,000 calls for aid. 

In a release, Lane Fire Authority officials said they’ve faced rising costs since 2021 in staffing, overtime, medical supplies, and equipment repair and maintenance. The district also used savings to purchase two ambulances.

“More calls and higher costs are making it harder to respond quickly when people need help,” Fire Chief Dale Borland said in a statement. “This discussion is about ensuring we’re able to keep providing the level of service our community counts on.”

The board is considering a renewal of its five-year local option levy and a proposed property tax increase. The proposed increase would be 20 cents for each $1,000 of assessed property value. That’s the equivalent of $20 for every $100,000 of assessed value, or $80 annually for the owner of a $400,000 house. That’s an extra $6.67 a month. 

In a release, the authority said the increase would allow it to hire two more firefighters and add staffing quarters at Station 109 on Spencer Creek Road. This would improve response times and help crews be available when multiple emergencies happen simultaneously, the authority said.

Currently, fire authority residents pay a permanent tax rate of $2.04 for every $1,000 of assessed value; that works out to $816 annually for a $400,000 house, according to the authority’s website. 

Separately, the authority has a five-year levy that is currently 35 cents for every $1,000 of assessed value, or $140 annually for a $400,000 house. For more information, visit www.lanefire.org.

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.