Yakima Co. Republican Party against EMS levy

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Yakima County Republican Party is against Yakima’s proposed EMS levy.

“We encourage the city’s leaders to do what many of us are doing: tighten their belts and learn to live within their existing budget,” county party Chairman Max Golladay wrote in a statement released today.

Voters on Feb. 3 will decide the fate of the proposal, which would increase an emergency medical services tax by 25 cents per $1,000 of taxable property. Only voters within the city of Yakima are eligible to cast ballots, and the new tax would only apply to city property. The levy would be in addition to the county’s existing 25 cent per $1,000 tax.

For the owner of a $168,000 home, the city EMS levy would add an extra $42 per year.

Backed by city leaders and Fire Chief Charlie Hines, it would generate $1.3 million a year in new tax revenue. Hines would use it to hire 12 new  firefighters and a dispatcher.

The county party’s central committee voted to oppose the levy because its members don’t believe taxes should be increased “in today’s economic climate,” Golladay said. They also don’t like that the city tax would be permanent, unlike the county tax, which requires voter renewal.

- Pat Muir