FIRE: Levy is a bargain

Every time you go to work, go to bed, drive your car, boat on Hayden Lake, snowmobile, hunt or ATV in the backwoods, sit at home with your family, barbecuing, swimming, your children are at school or participating in sports, YOUR Fire Department is three numbers away…911. Day or night, weekday, holiday or weekend, YOUR Firefighters, EMT’s and Paramedics are ready to help you, no questions asked.

NLFD serves more than 36,000 residents in their district as well as mutual aid for neighboring districts such as Dalton Gardens, which is served by KCFR. They cover 106 square miles and call volume has increased by more than 159 percent since 2001. The increased call load has lead to crews from both stations being on simultaneous calls 20 percent of the time. Are you willing to risk being the third stroke or cardiac call and waiting your turn?

NLFD is asking for a permanent override levy of which 100 percent will go to the fire districts budget and in turn, back to the residents of the district… nowhere else. The levy is designed to fund a strategic plan to improve their current services as well as plan for the future needs associated with expected growth and replacement equipment, advanced training etc., as needed. This levy not only protects the safety of you and your loved ones but also the firefighters and paramedics who serve us all.

The cost to residents who own a $150,000 home would be an additional $44.17 a year, $3.68 a month or $.12 per day. So here come the obvious questions. Where else can you get this safety and service for an additional $44.17 per year? Alarm companies charge roughly six times this much simply to monitor and call the NLFD. Are you willing to put your family’s safety as well as the safety of the firefighters/paramedics at risk for an additional $3.68 per month? This amount will not even buy lunch at a fast food restaurant. Finally, if you need the services of YOUR fire district, do you want to know your needs will be responded to quickly and professionally or do you want the extra $.12 a day lying there on the dresser?

Please do not be distracted from the big picture by a small, uninformed yet vocal group, trying to defeat this levy for whatever reason. Please think about the risks of not approving the NLFD levy and then get out and vote FOR YOUR NLFD LEVY and the safety and protection NLFD provides you, your home and your family. YOUR vote is very important, and who knows…possibly life saving.

BOB and PAM LEGG

Proud parents of a firefighter/paramedic

Dalton Gardens