Voters pass Camas EMS levy increase

Camas residents will be paying a higher levy rate starting in 2013 thanks to a levy rate increase approved by voters. The six-year levy received over and above the required simple majority by earning 55.80 percent approval in the Aug. 7 Primary Election. It will raise the levy rate from the current 35 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to 46 cents. The owner of a $300,000 home will pay $138 per year — a $33 increase. The EMS levy was first approved by voters in 1979 at 25 cents per $1,000. It has been approved by Camas voters every six years ever since, including its first increase to 35 cents in 2006. Funding from the EMS levy is used to support ambulance services, purchase and maintenance of ambulances, equipment and supplies, hiring and training of firefighter/paramedics and IV technicians and administrative support personnel and training programs. It also supports the EMT training and recertification of the volunteer programs in Washougal and East County Fire and Rescue. In addition, through the EMS levy partnership between Camas, Washougal and ECFR, four advanced life support ambulances are staffed 24 hours a day at three different stations in Camas and Washougal. In other election news, in what was initially a very tight Clark County Commissioner District 2 race, incumbent Marc Boldt, of Brush Prairie, grabbed the number two spot away from Camas resident Roman Battan by 312 votes. In the all-Republican race, Boldt will join the primary’s winner, Vancouver resident David Madore, in November’s General Election. Camas resident Liz Pike — a former Camas City Councilwoman — handily won the State Representative 18th Legislative District primary with more than 61 percent of the vote. Pike, a Republican, will challenge Democrat David Shehorn, of Vancouver, in November. Incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Camas Republican, won the U.S. Representative Third District primary with 56.53 percent of the vote, followed by Democrat Jon T. Haugen with 37.63 percent and Norma Jean Stevens with 5.84 percent. The General Election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 6. For a complete list of Primary Election results, visit www.vote.wa.gov.

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