City asks county to move EMS levy; commissioners opt to keep February ballot

Walla Walla City Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain asked the Wallowa County Board on Nov. 24 to place a city EMS levy renewal on an April special‑election ballot rather than February to avoid two property‑tax measures appearing together, which she said could hurt both measures.

Chamberlain told commissioners the city has built outreach and educational materials around a February date and was concerned about voter confusion if the Metropolitan Parks District measure and the city EMS renewal were split across different ballots. "A lot of our education materials have the February ballot date in them," she said.

The county’s EMS Director testified that moving just an EMS renewal to an April sole‑item ballot would substantially raise election costs. The director cited a 2020 cost of $31,533.78 to place the levy on the ballot and estimated a sole‑item April cost between roughly $66,600 and $92,500, or about $1.80–$2.50 per voter according to conversations with the county auditor.

Commissioners Kimball and Clayton both expressed concern about moving the county’s established practice for the levy, noting that February timing has historically allowed time to re‑run a failed proposition within the year, and that sharing a February ballot with other measures spreads administrative costs. "Putting two on at the same time makes if you like one and don't like the other, then you may vote no on both of them," Kimball said.

The board did not rescind its earlier decision to place the county EMS renewal on the February ballot and directed staff to leave the county date unchanged. Commissioners said the city may separately decide to adjust its own timeline if necessary, but the county will not change its schedule.

What’s next: The city and county will proceed on their respective timelines unless the city formally withdraws and re‑files its ballot measure; county staff will not pursue moving the county‑administered EMS renewal.