Public hearings on the proposed 2026 budget, levies and benefit charge will take place during the regular meeting of the South County Fire Board of Commissioners on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.

View 2026 Preliminary Budget

Community members can attend in person at South County Fire Headquarters, 12425 Meridian Ave. S, Everett, or remotely using Zoom (Meeting ID 861 5293 4763) to learn more and provide comments. Instructions for Getting Started with Zoom (PDF).

Public comments can also be submitted in advance by email or voicemail to Board of Commissioners Executive Assistant Melissa Blankenship, mblankenship@southsnofire.org, 425-551-1251.

The proposed 2026 budget takes action to meet the community’s growing needs while keeping taxpayer costs low, and shifts a slightly higher portion of funding onto the benefit charge instead of property taxes. The benefit charge provides a more fair way to fund emergency services because it’s based on a building’s size and risk instead of property value.

Overall, the 2026 funding proposal adds just over an estimated $7 per month to the average homeowner’s costs and includes the addition of 30 firefighters plus six administrative staff to preserve emergency services.

Here are other important facts about the budget:

• This budget proposes a property tax levy rate slightly less than in 2025: an estimated $1.15 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
• The benefit charge for the owner of a 2,000-square-foot-home would increase from $70.39 to $106.92, a difference of less than $37 for the entire year.
• South County Fire has kept property tax rate increases below the rate of inflation since the RFA was formed. The 2026 budget would keep South County Fire among the lowest cost emergency service providers in all of Snohomish County.

South County Fire’s long-term planning and conservative approach to funding has allowed property tax increases to remain below the rate of inflation since the RFA formed. The average yearly property tax increase since 2018 is below one percent.

Washington State law establishes property taxes as one of the primary ways public fire services can be funded. As a Regional Fire Authority, South County Fire is only allowed to levy property taxes based on assessed property value: an EMS Levy up to $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value and a Fire Levy up to $1.50 per $1,000 or assessed property value.

The maximum fire levy is reduced by a third – down to $1.00 per $1,000 or assessed property value – with the addition of a voter-approved benefit charge. State law limits yearly property tax increases to 1% per year plus new construction collections. In years where the 1% increase is not used, that taxing capacity can be “banked” for possible use in the future.

Property values can be appealed and homeowners can also request a property tax exemption through the Snohomish County Assessor’s Office.

The benefit charge, renewed by voters in 2024, provides a fair and balanced way to distribute emergency service costs. Unlike traditional levies based on a property’s value, this fee is based on building size, use and hazards.

That means residential homeowners typically pay less than higher risk industrial or commercial buildings. With the benefit charge, the maximum fire levy is reduced by a third. Learn more about the benefit charge.

South County Fire has kept property tax rate increases below the rate of inflation since the RFA was formed. The proposed 2026 budget would keep South County Fire among the lowest cost emergency service providers in all of Snohomish County.

The levy rates and benefit charge apply to properties within the RFA, which includes the cities of Brier, Lynnwood, Mill Creek and Mountlake Terrace along with communities in unincorporated southwest Snohomish County.

The City of Edmonds joined the RFA June 1, 2025. Starting in 2026, property owners will pay South County Fire directly for fire and EMS, instead of paying taxes to the city for these services