Ballots for Bigfork fire levy due May 8

On May 8, Bigfork voters will determine the level of service the Bigfork Fire Department and QRU can adequately provide their area by either approving or rejecting a proposed mill levy that would fund the department going forward.

Bigfork Fire Chief Mark Thiry deemed the levy essential if the department is to maintain the necessary funding, and a failure to pass it, he said, could lead to a loss of emergency services and personnel down the road.

Following the decision to merge the Bigfork QRU with the fire department in 2010, volunteer numbers have steadily dropped, making the department more and more reliant on its paid employees.

The problem, Thiry said, is that when the services merged, no funding mechanism was put in place to sustain the switch from a volunteer base to a paid workforce with salaries and benefits.

Thiry said the average entry-level McDonalds employee earns more than the dedicated men and women who respond and protect Bigfork in emergency situations.

There are 11 ambulance services in the county, and Bigfork is ranked fourth in call volume, according to a report from the Bigfork Fire District, meaning the department deals with the needs of a big city on a voluteer-based budget.

That budget, according to Thiry, will likely dry up within the next three or four years, forcing the department to cut services, starting with paramedics.

The 15-mill levy increase the department is seeking would generate an extra $350,000 annually for the fire department, allotting for fair and equitable wages for its employees while maintaining the current paramedic services provided.

The levy would also put in place a long-term funding mechanism to replace aging ambulances and fire equipment, rather than asking taxpayers to pull $200,000 or more out of their pockets when the need arises in a couple years.

If the levy is passed, homeowners would see an increase of $20.25 for every $100,000 assessed market value of their home. That translates to about $40 per year for a home worth $200,000.

Prior to a misprint on the ballots sent out by the county election office earlier this month, Thiry said he was comfortable in his belief that the levy would pass.

Now, however, he said the department has switched gears, throwing all of its energy into damage control in hopes that the error won’t cost them the votes they need.

Around 100 votes had been cast by the time the misprint was discovered. Now voters will have to cast or re-cast their votes on the new ballots issued on Thursday and Friday before next week’s deadline.

The levy faces another hurdle on the taxpayer level with wide concern from Bigfork residents about the lack of funding coming in from the farthest reaches of the region their department serves.

Thiry said calls come in from beyond the district and outside Flathead County, stretching into the Swan Valley area close to Condon.

Though the Bigfork Fire Department and ambulance service takes calls in those areas, the residents of Lake County pay no taxes to help with funding.

Though Thiry said taxpayers in Bigfork might hate the idea of their Lake County neighbors getting “something for nothing,” Bigfork will also rely on those services, which won’t survive without funding.

Thiry said he has not given up the fight with Lake County commissioners and plans to continue working with them to find a funding solution that will allow them to continue helping Swan Valley residents who otherwise might have to go without.

“Some folks don’t understand there’s no law mandating that we have to keep ambulance service,” Thiry said.

If the levy fails, Thiry said the department’s first act would take them back to just basic service. The second would eliminate the 24/7 paramedic staffing at the station, and the third and worst-case scenario would be to discontinue ambulance services completely.

“We’re not asking for any luxurious items or toys,” Thiry said. “What we’re trying to do here is we’re trying to maintain the service that you already have.”

The final day to cast votes on the levy will be May 8.

Voters can either mail in their new, re-printed ballots to the election office or turn them in to one of two ballot boxes located at the fire hall and at the election office.

For more information about the Bigfork Fire Department, visit http://www.bigforkfd.com/.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.