Fire levy got support — just not enough

Though a majority of voters supported Northern Lakes Fire District’s $2 million permanent override levy, it failed.

The levy garnered 60.66% of the vote Tuesday, with more than 5,500 voters casting their ballots in favor of it — but Idaho Code requires a supermajority of 66 2/3% for a permanent override levy to pass.

NLFD Chief Pat Riley said the levy was badly needed.

When the fire district formed in 2000, it received about 670 calls a year.

Today, it receives about 5,500 calls at stations in Hayden and Rathdrum and is trending toward 6,500 next year.

Riley said Northern Lakes simply can’t keep up with that demand with the resources currently available.

“We’re relying on outside agencies to come in,” Riley said Tuesday. “Another fire station would be seriously beneficial to our response time in our district.”

Levy funds would’ve gone toward adding 12 firefighters/EMTs and two support staff for a new fire station between Hayden and Rathdrum that would be built with capital reserve funds.

Without those funds, Riley said, the fire district will have to evaluate what services it provides.

“We cannot continue to bear this increase in responses with the staff that we have,” he said.