Camas levy increase will land on Aug. 7 ballot
Voters will decide whether to approve 11 cent bump for EMS
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Camas voters will have the opportunity to cast their ballots on a proposal to increase the current emergency medical services levy.
Last night, the Camas City Council unanimously voted to send the issue to the Aug. 7 ballot. If approved, the six-year levy would raise the current rate from 35 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to 46 cents. Starting in 2013, the owner of a $300,000 home would pay $138 per year — a $33 increase.
The proposed increase is an effort to stabilize the emergency medical services funding stream. In recent years the EMS fund’s revenues have dropped, primarily due to a decrease in assessed property values. At the end of 2011 the fund had a shortfall of $55,000, an amount that had to be covered by the city’s general operations fund.
According to Camas city officials’ calculations, at 46 cents the levy would put the EMS fund in the black by $237,130 by 2018. But keeping the rate at its current level would build a deficit of $2.9 million by 2018.
