Bend City Council sends fire levy to May ballot

By Joni Auden Land (OPB)
Feb. 16, 2023 7:38 p.m.

The levy could raise property taxes to pay for more fire department staffing amid a population boom.

This week the Bend City Council approved sending an increased fire levy to voters, as public agencies in the area look for more funding to serve a growing population.

The levy, if approved in the May election, would increase property taxes from the current levy of 20 cents per $1,000 taxable assessed value to 76 cents.

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The levy comes to voters as Bend’s population continues to swell. The city’s population has grown by 20% since 2014 when voters last approved the rate to pay for the fire department.

A sign outside a Bend Fire Department station in Bend, Ore. The department is hoping voters approve an increase in property tax funding.

A sign outside a Bend Fire Department station in Bend, Ore. The department is hoping voters approve an increase in property tax funding.

Bradley W. Parks / OPB

Since then, calls for service to the fire department have increased by 60%, Bend Fire Chief Todd Riley told the City Council on Wednesday.

“Although we are not in a response time crisis right now, our increasing calls for services have the potential to negatively impact those response times,” he said.

Riley said the money raised through the levy — which could be more than $65 million over five years — will mainly go toward sustaining and increasing the fire department’s staff. That includes nine firefighters hired in September using one-time funding, which expires in 2024.

While voters will have their say on the levy in May, if approved it would not go into effect until 2024, when the current levy rate of 20 cents is set to expire.

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