A pair of public safety related measures on a special election ballot affecting Kent, Covington and Black Diamond were passing according to results posted by King County Elections Tuesday night.
A proposal to create a regional fire authority that would include the Kent Fire Department and Fire District 37, which includes the city of Covington and nearby unincorporated areas, was passing by an overwhelming margin.
Nearly 73 percent of voters, 10,849, had cast their ballots in support of the regional fire authority. About 25 percent of votes had been counted Tuesday night. It requires a supermajority, or 60 percent, to pass.
Proposition No. 1 asks voters to approve the merging of the Kent Fire Department and Fire District 37 into a regional fire authority.
The regional fire authority would keep the name of the Kent Fire Department.
With the creation of the fire authority, which will be formed by July 1, residents of the district would pay about the same in property taxes while the department would be able to maintain its current level of service, according to information provided by Kent Fire Chief Jim Schneider at a Covington City Council meeting on Feb. 9.
A six-member board of commissioners will govern the fire authority with three members elected from the city of Kent and three from Fire District 37.
The funding for the authority will come from two sources, a six-year fire benefit charge and property taxes.
The property tax assessment would not exceed $1 per $1,000 of assessed value, which replaces the existing $1.50 per $1,000.
In 2009 a homeowner paid $459 for fire services in a home with an assessed value of $306,000.
The same homeowner in 2010 saw the assessed value of the home drop to $240,000 and the owner paid $360 for fire services.
In 2011 if the fire authority measure passes, that same homeowner will pay $388 for fire services, which includes both property tax and the benefit charge.
Meanwhile, Black Diamond’s Proposition 1, a public safety levy, was passing after the first round of mail-in ballots were counted Tuesday night with 55 percent of the vote, or 543 voters checking yes on the form.
The proposition failed by 11 votes in the November 2009 general election.
According Black Diamond Police Chief Jamey Kiblinger, the proposition would renew the existing levy and will fund police, fire and emergency services.
It requires a simple majority to pass.
The levy is expected to bring in about $450,000, based on 2009 figures.
The proposition would authorize the city to collect a property tax rate of $2.57 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The levy partially funds the services for police and fire, and the balance is made up from the general fund.
