PONDERAY, Idaho – Northside Fire District hosted an informational session at Station 1 to explain a proposed permanent levy override that will appear on the November ballot. District leaders say the measure is intended to maintain current service levels once temporary federal funding ends, not to add new positions.
District officials walked through what the levy would fund and what happens if it fails. The proposal would add $41 per $100,000 of assessed value. Leaders say the additional revenue would cover operating costs and keep three firefighters on duty per day after a federal SAFER grant expires in 2027.“This time we’re gonna go ahead and respectfully once again present it to the citizens. It’s a lesser levy override amount and instead of trying to expand and advance the services, we’re going to go ahead and shoot for specifically maintaining the exact services that we have right now,” said Vernon Roof, fire commissioner for Northside Fire District.Commissioner Roof said the district calculated the request based on salaries, benefits and basic maintenance, while continuing to share administrative costs with neighboring Selkirk Fire.“We’ve gone ahead and entered into an agreement with a neighboring fire district, Selkirk, and we share a fire chief… We want to keep all those personnel on so that we have an aggregate total of nine firefighters here at the district. That provides us with three firefighters on each day,” Roof said.Acting Captain Connor Robinson said the district would scale back to minimal staffing without the levy once the grant support ends.“The levy that Northside has proposed to the taxpayers is to maintain our current service level of three firefighters on duty per day. If the levy does not pass, those positions will be cut, and we will be down to one, possibly two firefighters per day,” Robinson said.Resident and retired battalion chief Robert Frank added that three-person crews affect what firefighters can do in the first minutes of a response.“What it’s going to do is provide an engine company staffed with three personnel twenty-four hours a day… The amount of work that a three-person engine can accomplish is far greater than two or one. You’ll get a more effective immediate response from the resources that arrive,” Frank said.Public turnout at the session was light. District leaders said the purpose was to provide information ahead of the vote and that they plan additional informational opportunities before Election Day.“Once again, I can’t really advocate. I’m just here to educate… We respect your opinions, and really, all we ask for is to vote on November the fourth,” Roof said.What’s next: The levy override will appear on the November ballot for voters within the Northside Fire District. Officials say they will continue answering questions about the proposal in the weeks ahead.
