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Committee hears bill to create single‑city fire protection districts and alter levy rules
Summary
Senate Ways and Means received testimony on Substitute Senate Bill 6,037 to let cities form single‑city fire protection districts without a dollar‑for‑dollar reduction to a city’s levy; supporters said it creates a workable funding option, opponents warned it could crowd out hospital district levy space.
Substitute Senate Bill 6,037 would change how a newly formed single‑city fire protection district interacts with a city’s property tax structure and statutory maximum rates.
Jeff Mitchell, staff to the committee, summarized the bill’s mechanics: it would eliminate the current requirement that a city must reduce its general‑fund property tax levy dollar for dollar by the new fire district levies and instead reduce the city’s statutory maximum tax rate by the aggregate rate imposed by the fire protection district for districts created after July 1, 2026. Mitchell also explained that 25¢ of a city or town fire protection district levy may be placed into the property‑tax “gap,” and that the City of Seattle is exempt from the levy‑reduction requirement…
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