Submitted by Brian Ehrmantraut, Randy Gaylord, Kate Hansen and Toni Knudson.

In light of the resounding defeat of the August Levy for Orcas Fire and Rescue, the four challengers for the Commission are looking for citizens to explore and evaluate options. The four challengers for seats on the Fire District Commission are Kate Hansen, Toni Knudson, Brian Ermantraut and Randall Gaylord. They are taking steps to form a citizen advisory group called the “Fire District Stability Group”. The purpose of the group will be to review the needs of the district and the alternatives to fund those needs and the timeline for taking action.

In July, The Orcas Board of Fire Commissioners approved putting an identical levy on the November ballot. That levy will result in a one-time 82 percent increase in real property taxes for the district that will then be extended permanently. “We believe, if the first levy attempt was defeated by a margin of 25 percent in favor and 75 percent opposed it means there has been a real disconnect with the citizens,” said Toni Knudson.

This Stability Group will look at desired level of service for the community and short-term and long-term solutions to fund those services.

“We hope the group can meet this fall and then have a recommendation for the Fire Commissioners in late November,” said Kate Hansen.

This should not be a big commitment from Citizens. It is hopeful that they will spend some up front time to understand the current level of service, review current and projected budgets, and participate in a group dialogue to come up with desired services going forward and potential solutions to fund them responsibly.

Persons interested in being part of the Fire District Stabilization Group are asked to contact any of the four candidates personally or Kate Hansen at Kate@KateForOrcas.com / 360-622-7010 or Toni Knudson at ToniForChange@gmail.com / 360-472-0239.

Future meetings will be announced so that the public can attend.