NEWS

COUNCIL TO DISCUSS ANNEXATION TONIGHT

By: Lyle Evansiano January 5, 2010

City of Orting & Fire District #18 are holding two special meetings, tonight and tomorrow, in regards to a proposal for the city to annex into Orting Valley Fire & Rescue...Pierce County Fire District 18, currently under review. Orting residents are invited to share their thoughts at both meetings:

7pm, January 5th
Fire District 18 Board of Commissioners Review Meeting

7pm, January 6th
Orting City Council Special Meeting

Both meetings will be held at the the Orting Public Safety Building, 401 Washington Ave. S.E.

"Please take a look and give due consideration for attending these meetings." asked Councilman Sam Colorossi. "If ever you need to understand what your options are with regards to Fire and Emergency Services between the City and the District, it is now! This is going to hit the citizens living in the city in the pocket book. How much? I don’t know. There is no if and/or buts about it. Please be available to learn where we are headed."

A recent story in the Tacoma News Tribune was headlined with "Orting expected to approve annexation of Pierce County fire district" and excerpts from the article follow:

"Orting Valley Fire & Rescue and the City of Orting have reconciled some of their differences and are looking to combine services once again. Right now, the city pays the fire district about $1.1 million a year to provide Orting residents with fire service, but the city isn’t officially part of the fire district, which covers about 27 square miles outside the city limits.

City officials want to annex into the district because they say they don’t have the money to continue paying district officials $1.1 million each year, according to Orting City Manager Mark Bethune.

The Times article went on to state that the annexation would result in a property tax increase for Orting residents of 55 cents per $1,000 in assessed value. That’s because people served by Orting Valley Fire & Rescue pay about 55 cents more per $1,000 for fire service than Orting citizens, according to Bethune.

“What we’re trying to say to the citizens is we have really not been paying our share in some sense,” Bethune said last month. “With the revenues this city brings in we cannot afford that level of service.”

The difference would amount to an extra $137.50 per year for the owner of a $250,000 home.

The News Tribune Article: www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/1014363.html