— from Kim Kimple for Orcas Island Fire & Rescue —
San Juan County Proposition No. 1
Sales and Use Tax for Emergency Communication System and Facilities
WHY IS AN UPGRADE NEEDED?
Current emergency radio communication in San Juan County faces two major issues.
- Emergency radio coverage throughout San Juan County has many “dead zones”.
- Only 40% of the county is covered by high-quality communications. The rest has partial or no coverage, leaving emergency responders unable to contact dispatch and each other during emergency medical, fire, and law enforcement situations.
- The current system has aged and has a lack of reliability and redundancy.
- Installed in the 1960’s and expanded in the 1970’s – the existing equipment is obsolete, with many replacement and repair parts no longer manufactured.
- The current system has only three sites to cover the entire county.
WHAT WILL THE UPGRADE PROVIDE?
An upgrade will provide the entire county (including outer islands) with high-quality radio communication.
- It will replace the existing base communications with new equipment, technology and redundant capabilities.
- The system will include 20 new base sites around the county.
- Fire, EMS, Law Enforcement and Public Works will be able to continue using their existing radios to communicate over the new system.
WHY NOW and WHAT HAS CHANGED TO MAKE IT HAPPEN?
- The system has suffered from ongoing failures – with emergency calls increasing steadily every year, poor coverage is becoming a huge issue.
- Over the past 10 years proposals have been made by individuals in emergency services to fix these issues but costs have been out of reach for the county.
- There is a significant cost reduction to the proposed emergency communications upgrade due to recent and ongoing buildout of fiber-optics in the county.
WHAT IS THE COST?
- Proposed purchase amount is $3.5 million.
- Proposed operations and maintenance per year: $150,000.
HOW WILL IT BE FUNDED?
RCW 82.14.420 allows for funding of emergency communication systems through a dedicated sales tax. The tax will be paid by residents and visitors alike, thus spreading the cost of the system across all users throughout the county.
HOW MUCH IS THE SALES TAX and WHAT WILL IT COST ME?
During the first 5 years, while equipment is purchased:
- Proposed sale tax: Two-tenths of one percent (0.2)
- Impact to me: Two cents ($0.02) on a $10 taxable purchase
- Ten cents ($0.10) on a $50 taxable purchase
- Twenty cents ($0.20) on a $100 taxable purchase
After year 5, for operations and equipment maintenance:
- Proposed sale tax: Five one-hundredths of one percent (0.05)
- Impact to me: 1/2 cent ($0.005) on a $10.00 taxable purchase
- Two-and-a-half cents ($0.025) on a $50 taxable purchase
- Five cents ($0.05) on a $100 taxable purchase
WHY THIS TYPE OF SYSTEM AND WHO IS THE VENDOR?
The new simulcast/voting system with 20 sites meets two objectives:
- Complete coverage and New Equipment
- Technology and Redundancy
After 10 years of proposals, research and evaluating many radio systems, CODAN Communications, a large international company located in Victoria BC, was chosen to support this project. CODAN has contributed over 100 hours to finding the best solution for San Juan County at a reasonable cost. CODAN has been vetted by the Washington purchasing process and supplies equipment to many of the counties in the state including Washington State Highway Patrol and Washington State Department of Natural Resources. CODAN provides free training to county personnel and is available at any time to analyze and troubleshoot problems.
Please VOTE in the February 11th Special Election!
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While I definitely concur with the need for the proposed upgraded communications system, I am opposed to financing the project with a further increase in the sales tax. Such a tax is regressive in the extreme, falling on those least able to pay it–no matter how “small” the additional rate. A more equitable financing vehicle for such a project would be an increase in property taxes, affecting those more able to shoulder this expenditure.
Well written article, transparent and defined.
I’ve had too be flown off Orcas twice in 23 years ,each time I was close to death. It’s frightening and frustrating at night when you’re really sick and in trouble and have to go through the UW inept triage phone system in Seattle and there is no return call or help and you are becoming more ill.
It’s been the Fire Department and Paramedics that have saved my life.
I wish I could help my fellow islanders in some way being a retired Physician Assistant for 45 years and having spent years working at the Orcas Medical Center.
This is a step in the right direction , but the system still needs a lot more work
for our island population to feel secure and protected when their health fails and they’re alone and there is no one there.
I am voting “NO” on this. We do need a good emergency communication system, but it is the proposed tax that I object to.
Thank you Kim for all this information. I like the idea of a sales tax rather than property tax. Since food is not taxable then this new tax would only affect other purchases.
Very well presented. A small price to pay for saving lives at all income levels. Emergency care is being heavily impacted by visitors to Orcas. At least they will pay a sales tax.
“1/2 cent on $10.00” .. cripes, how can one object to that!?
Maybe they’ll get their act together and coordinate with local providers too. We should make that part of the deal:
New toys :: Better service.
Rural EMS is a lifeline with limited value if it does not tie together other services: “Saddle UP!” – no longer a sufficient response to community need.
Is RCW 82.14.420 the ONLY mechanism to fund this? I would much prefer that it be funded via property tax.
Sales and Use taxes hurt the poor and middle class. Is there no other way? What about property taxes? I do not wish to pay more sales and use tax, nor can my budget handle that. Find a more equitable and fair way to raise these monies.
People with $5 million mansions should pay more than people who live in a small manufactured house. But with a sales tax, both pay exactly the same when they buy a burger at a local restaurant.
If the sales tax is the only mechanism allowed, fine. But if property tax can be used, do that. We need the improvements.
I support this tax being taken from sales tax. Property taxes do not capture the tourist spending/ taxation and as the increase in and presence of additional visitors and seasonal workers should have a part in paying for these services.
seems like everyone benefits equally from improved EMS response, so taxing all and each equally [if minimally] is most theoretically ‘fair,’ though quibbling over a tenth of a half percent still sounds more like a “get-a-life” kind of dispute.