Bainbridge voters will decide next week if property taxes should be increased to pay for more firefighters and EMTs on the island.
Residents will also decide if it’s time to rebuild and renovate Bainbridge’s cramped and worn-out fire halls.
Proposition 1 is ballot measure that would increase the property tax levy for the Bainbridge Island Fire Department by 9 cents (per $1,000 of assessed value).
If approved, the existing levy would rise from 86 cents to 95 cents. Officials with the Bainbridge fire department plan to use the increase in funding to pay for new firefighters and EMTs and expand the staffing at the department’s north end station on Phelps Road.
Officials said the increase would amount to $45 per year for the owner of a $500,000 home.
The proposal has found widespread support on the north end of Bainbridge Island.
An earlier poll conducted by the fire department also found strong support for the long-talked-about proposal to rebuild fire stations on the island.
Proposition 2 would authorize a $16 million, 20-year bond sale to pay for new and improved facilities.
Officials said Prop. 2, if approved, would cost the owner of a $500,000 home approximately $80 a year.
While a simple majority is needed for Prop. 1, a 60 percent supermajority is needed for Prop. 2 to pass.