Franklin County Fire District 3 lid lift request could benefit homeowners and emergency response times

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FRANKLIN COUNTY, Wash. – Franklin County Fire District 3 has proposed a levy lid lift that will appear on the August 6 primary ballot.

According to FCFD3 Fire Chief Mike Harris, this tax increase could benefit homeowners with insurance premiums.

Insurance companies use the insurance service office or ISO grading system to help calculate premiums by factoring in the health and response times from nearby fire stations, quality of emergency communication systems and more to determine how much danger your home could be in during an emergency.

The levy lid lift would increase property taxes from 88 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to $1.28 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

This increase would only impact properties residing in FCFD3.

“The people that live in Fire District, pay property taxes and that money goes directly to fire and emergency medical services in District 3,” said Chief Harris. “So it’s not countywide and we don’t share it with any other departments in the county.”

The median home price in Franklin County is $413,701. For a home with that value, the increase would mean their yearly total property tax would increase from $364 to $529.

 

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