Spokane County fire districts receive mixed results at polls; Airway Heights fire station bond passes

Voters on Tuesday approved increases to two Spokane County fire district tax levies and an $8 million bond for a new Airway Heights fire station. But they rejected two Spokane County fire district levies.

Fire District 3’s proposition passed with 65.5% approval, meaning its current rate of $1.22 per $1,000 in assessed valuation will increase to the maximum rate of $1.50. Fire District 10’s levy rate earned 58.7% approval, moving its 81 cents per $1,000 in assessed valuation to $1.50.

District 5’s proposition failed, with 56.4% of voters rejecting the proposed increase from about 78 cents per $1,000 to $1.50. Voters in District 13 in Newman Lake rejected its proposition, with 57.5% voting against the spike of 79 cents per $1,000 to $1.40.

In Airway Heights, voters overwhelmingly passed the $8 million bond with 77.5% approval. The bond, which needed 60% to pass, will allow the city to buy a building and remodel it into a modern fire station. The existing station was built 55 years ago.

The city has a deal in place to buy the property, 1149 S. Garfield Road. An empty 39,600-square-foot commercial building built in 2019 sits on the 4-acre parcel.

The tax increase would be 37 cents per $1,000 in valuation of property. That’s about $111 per year on a $300,000 taxable property.