STAR, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
This northern part of the Treasure Valley was once rural farm grounds with individual homes scattered about. Like much of Idaho, Star and Middleton have seen significant growth, with an influx of new residents and suburban neighborhoods popping up.
In 2010, the towns’ combined populations barely surpassed 10,000 residents. More recently, Star has reached 16,333 residents, according to the 2023 U.S. Census, and Middleton sits at a population of 11,016.
This has presented a significant challenge for the Star Fire Protection District and Middleton Rural Fire District, which both ran $2.25 million levies on Election Day.
Wednesday morning, Fire Chief Greg Timinsky walked through the echoey rooms of the districts’ headquarters, Station 51 in Star. As a steward of Idaho tax dollars, Triminsky noted that the former vitamin factory was converted into a station with a low cost per square foot.
While technically separate, Star and Middleton’s districts work in collaboration, sharing a fire chief, other leadership and administrative staff.
Both levies run on Election Day required a two-thirds supermajority but failed, with Star receiving 38.6% support and Middleton receiving 44.4% support.
For Star, this would have equated to a cost of $44.79 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value. For Middleton, the cost would be $61.72 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value.
For the fire district, this means two new stations to be completed in 2025 will likely sit empty without the staff needed to run them.
The fire district funded the construction of the stations through the use of impact fees, which are collected from developers who bring in new construction. The amount of impact fees varies year to year depending on the amount of development that takes place.
Timinsky explained that the use of impact fees is restricted to brick-and-mortar locations or to purchases that are expected to last 10 years. Impact fees cannot be used for salaries, nor would Timinsky want to, as it is an inconsistent funding source.
“People don’t understand that there is no pot of gold,” Timinsky said about criticism of the levies. “Like a city has a huge fund at the end of the year that they can distribute money out of. (For the fire districts) what we get from our taxpayers is what we use.”
Reaching the two-thirds supermajority is a challenge with voters who don’t understand the necessity for a levy, Timinsky said. Contrary to many assumptions, the Star and Middleton fire districts are not connected to the cities or city taxes.
“Yes, we provide fire protection for the city of Middleton and the city of Star,” Timinsky said. “But they don’t own us, we do not work for them. We have a relationship with both of them, but we don’t work for them.”
This is what distinguishes a fire district from a fire department that is tied to a specific city.
Funded mainly by property taxes, the districts were hit hard by HB 389, which reduced property taxes. Authored in 2021 by House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, a representative from Star, HB 389 was introduced and passed in just three days. The bill saw criticism at the time from local elected officials who were painted as always wanting more.
“I don’t want millions and millions and millions of dollars of extra money,” Timinsky said. “I just want enough to operate.“
Since the bill’s passage, the Star Fire Protection District alone has lost $1.7 million in property tax revenue.
While his fire districts are struggling, Timinsky said he believes that the Canyon County Ambulance District is having a harder time due to its funding structure.
The Canyon County Ambulance District receives about 30% of its funding from taxes. The other 70% is intended to come from patients paying for services. However, when it comes to those on Medicare or Medicaid, costs are only partially covered and the ambulance district receives less money.
Funding challenges for the Canyon County Ambulance District create a domino effect, Timinsky explained. According to the ambulance district’s website, Canyon County paramedics’ response time has increased by one minute over the last four years.
For Star and Middleton firefighters, this means they sometimes arrive before paramedics to a medical emergency.
“They don’t have the skill set, they’re not paramedics, and they don’t have the box (ambulance), because sometimes you just need that ambulance to get them to the hospital,” Timinsky said.
Firefighters have increasingly had to do CPR and other life-saving measures that would be better handled by EMS.
“I’m putting them in a position, my guys and gals, to watch somebody die because they don’t have the proper tools to finish the job,” he said.
Timinsky added that he doesn’t want to fear-monger people into voting, but he wants voters to understand the levies before voting ‘no.’ Emergency services will never no-show a call, Timinsky said, but every minute matters.
“It’s scary for you folks when you dial 911,” Timinsky said. “If you’ve ever dialed 911, and you’re expecting emergency services, police, fire, EMS, to show up, every second feels like a minute.”
As they collaborate, Timinsky said he has known ambulance district chief Michael Stowell for 30 years and has watched him struggle to pass a levy this year.
“That guy is working seven days a week, 15 hours a day, trying to get in front of people, to just get beat down,” Timinsky said.
CANYON COUNTY AMBULANCE DISTRICT
The ambulance district’s team of less than 70 serves the entirety of Canyon’s population. According to the 2022 U.S. Census, Canyon County has a population of 251,065.
The district’s $5.8 million permanent override levy fell short of the required supermajority on Election Day with 47.5% support. This followed another attempted levy of $8 million that failed to pass in May with 41% support.
“We did lower it to try to make it a little more palatable,” chief Michael Stowell said about the reduction to $5.8 million. “At some point, you can’t keep dropping (the amount).”
The $5.8 million levy would have resulted in an approximate property tax increase of $15 per $100,000 of assessed value.
Stowell has been with the EMS district for two decades. The last time the district received a levy, from Stowell’s recollection, was in 2001 before he joined.
In the face of another failed attempt this year, Stowell is choosing to remain optimistic.
“We’re definitely disappointed that it didn’t pass,” Stowell said. “(Though), we definitely also feel the support of the public. There were a lot of yes votes, so that was encouraging.”
He noted that some districts take a few tries to pass their levies, like the Valley Countywide EMS District, which passed a levy this November on its third attempt.
As Stowell has worked to educate Canyon County community members on the levy, people have questioned — why not pull from another revenue source?
“We don’t have another funding source to pull from,” Stowell said.
While impact fees cannot be used for personnel, the ambulance district hasn’t received impact fees at all. According to Stowell, Idaho ambulance districts were not allowed to access impact fees until recent legislative changes. Currently, the Canyon County Ambulance District is in the process of beginning fee collections.
“Unlike a levy, those impact fees have to build up,” Stowell said. “You don’t get $5.8 million in a year. They go off of building permits, so if there’s not a lot of building, it doesn’t add up very fast.”
The district’s $5.8 million levy would have covered seven paramedic positions, an ambulance, replacing old medical equipment, the construction of a new station in south Caldwell and the rebuilding of another in south Nampa.
Stowell is uncertain of what amount the district would ask for, but hopes to rerun a levy in the next election.
“You can’t keep dropping it, because then you’re not even going to provide any service,” Stowell said. “You just can’t get down to a couple million, because then you’ll only build one station instead of two, you also won’t add an ambulance, you won’t add staff. You’re asking for such a small amount that you’re not gaining anything.”
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.