MESSAGE FROM FIRE CHIEF ANDY LEE

I receive 2-3 calls a week from new residents that cannot buy fire insurance for their property.  I get similar calls from long-time residents who have received a “policy-cancelled” notice from their home insurance provider.  Although I cannot sell you fire insurance, I will do my level best to ensure that we have a well-trained firefighting force ready to respond to your calls. 

During the past 3 years, we responded to 1,889 9-1-1 calls.  We are safeguarding $1.4 billion in residential and commercial property.  Our current Fire District levy rate is 31.5 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value.  This is the lowest levy rate among any fire district in Chelan or Douglas County.  

A small fraction (3 percent) of your property tax bill supports our fire district.  As a result, we have an annual operating budget of $426,000, while similar size fire districts in Eastern Washington have a $1.5 million annual budget.  We do the best we can with what we have.  However, with no significant funding increase since 1955 (when Elvis was 20 and candy bars were 5 cents each), there isn’t much ‘patch’ left in our aging fire trucks and equipment.   

We are faced with the choice of asking for a funding increase or reducing our services.

Therefore, we held public engagement meetings this Spring to seek your opinions on our current and future operations.  We heard you “loud and clear” that you want us to provide good fire and EMS services and that you are willing to pay for it.  You also stated that you do not want us cutting EMS and motor vehicle accident responses.   

We are your local community-driven fire district, totally funded by your tax dollars. Your safety and the protection of our communities is our top priority.  If you have any questions or need further information, please contact me. 

Sincerely,  Andy Lee, Fire Chief   

Email: andyleechelanfire6@gmail.com 

Tel: 509-663-1678