Voters in Douglas County’s Tenmile Fire District will decide Tuesday whether to increase property taxes over five years to hire a full-time Fire Chief. The area has been served entirely by volunteers. KLCC’s Karen Richards has details.
The fire district covers an area around Olalla and Tenmile that includes part of Highway 42 to Coos Bay. 911 calls are up sharply and the community is growing. Valorie Pederson heads the Fire Board and says residents know their firefighters are stretched thin:
Pederson: “When they call now, if no one is here because all the volunteers are working, someone has to wait for someone to come from Winston or Roseburg. Having someone here full time will improve that 98%.”
New taxes are hard to pass in Douglas County, but Pederson says there’s lots of support. The levy may cause an average $15 per month property tax increase, but local taxes have been unchanged for 20 years.
