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Federal Way council votes to place countywide EMS levy on November ballot
Summary
The Federal Way City Council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing placement of a King County emergency medical services levy on the November 2025 ballot after a county presentation on program needs and finances.
The Federal Way City Council unanimously approved a resolution on May 6 to place a King County emergency medical services levy on the November 2025 ballot.
County EMS Division Director Michelle Plourde told the council the current levy expires at the end of this year and the region convened an EMS advisory task force to set program priorities and a financial plan. "Anytime you call 911 for a medical emergency, you're accessing this system I'm talking about," Plourde said, noting the system serves about 2.3 million people and averages a call roughly every two minutes.
The task force recommended a six-year levy at $0.25 per $1,000 assessed value, a package Plourde said would prioritize paramedic (advanced life support) funding, increase baseline support for fire-department basic life support, expand mobile integrated health pilots and invest in regional dispatch and data systems. Plourde said the plan anticipates carrying reserves from the current levy and that counties and cities over the 50,000-population threshold must support placement under state law.
Brian Davis, the city administrator, introduced the county presenters and Deputy Chief Lisa Deffenbaugh of South King Fire and Rescue answered operational questions specific to Federal Way, including local response counts and cardiac-arrest survival metrics. Council members asked about how much the countywide package would deliver to South King Fire over time and how inflation and service changes drove the package's size. Plourde said much of the increase over the last levy period is driven by inflation assumptions coupled with programmatic additions and indexing.
Council President Kochmeier moved approval of the resolution to place the measure on the ballot; the motion passed unanimously.
The council took no position on the levy's campaign; the action authorized only placement on the ballot. The county presenters said the recommended levy would be on the November 2025 ballot if other jurisdictions adopt similar resolutions.
