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King County officials brief committee on proposed Medic 1 levy, recommend six-year, 25¢ rate
Summary
County emergency medical services staff told the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee the Medic 1 levy proposal would seek a six-year, 25¢ per $1,000 assessed value levy on the November ballot, finance regional paramedic and BLS services, fund strategic initiatives and maintain reserves to manage risk.
King County public health and emergency medical services officials briefed the Metropolitan King County Council's Budget and Fiscal Management Committee Wednesday on a proposed six-year Medic 1 emergency medical services levy that they plan to place on the November general-election ballot.
The county's Emergency Medical Services Division director, Michelle Plourde, told the committee the task force recommended a levy rate of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for a six-year period and proposed using the levy to fund advanced life support (ALS) paramedic services, basic life support (BLS) agency support, regional medical program direction and community initiatives.
The levy sustains Medic 1, the countywide emergency medical system credited with a cardiac-arrest survival rate the division reported at about 51 percent in 2023. Officials said the regional system responded to roughly 255,000 calls in 2024 and that the levy is the primary funding source for paramedic services.
Plourde said a multi-stakeholder EMS advisory task force reviewed program needs across the county and recommended program changes including additional BLS support, expanded community-based partnerships, investments in dispatch-system improvements, enhanced data integrations and more funding for initial training to address staff recruitment and retention issues. "In 2023, the survival for cardiac arrest was 51 percent," Plourde said, noting that figure is a recognized quality standard for EMS systems.
Finance staff and the task force presented a financial plan showing an outside-Seattle revenue projection and program expenditures that would total about $1.5 billion over six years if the levy is set at 25¢, including a proposed supplemental economic reserve. The Office of Economic and Financial Analysis (OEFA) risk study identified a cumulative downside range of roughly $31 million to $76 million if several adverse indices moved against the plan simultaneously; staff said the task force recommended a supplemental reserve sized to mitigate likely risks. Plourde and Dwight Dively of the Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget said later OEFA updates lowered the supplemental reserve estimate from roughly $47 million to about $20.4 million after updated carry-forward and revenue assumptions.
Committee members pressed staff on program changes since the last levy and on equity measures intended to reach immigrants and non‑English speakers; Plourde described a Vulnerable Populations Strategic Initiative and partnerships with the University of Washington School of Public Health to improve outreach and interpretation services. Councillors and division directors discussed levy timing and how the law requires support from large cities: Plourde said state law requires approval from cities of 50,000 or more (nine of 11 cities) for a regional EMS levy to proceed to the ballot.
The briefing concluded without committee action; staff said the proposal will return for further committee consideration and a possible committee vote ahead of the ballot deadline. The committee thanked EMS staff for the briefing and signaled support for continued refinement of the financial plan.
