Local Option Levy

Thank You and Next Steps

Thank you to everyone who participated in the recent election and engaged in the community conversation about local fire and emergency medical services. While voters did not approve the renewal of the local option levy, we appreciate the dialogue from residents throughout this process.

The levy proposal aimed to maintain current service levels for more than 45,000 people across our service area. Without this revenue, Lane Fire Authority faces budget gaps that will affect daily operations.

In the weeks ahead, beginning at the Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, November 18 at 1 p.m. (Veneta Station 101 at 88050 Territorial Hwy. in Veneta), Fire Authority leadership will determine how to continue delivering emergency response services within available funding. This will require difficult decisions about how and where to reduce costs. Once those decisions are made, we will report back to our community.

Stay Involved

Lane Fire Authority values transparency and community involvement. We encourage residents to attend Board meetings, ask questions, and participate in planning discussions.

If you have questions or would like to learn more, please contact Fire Chief Dale Borland at daleborland@lanefire.org or 541-935-2226.

Message from the Fire Chief

Watch this brief message from Chief Borland explaining the reasons behind the request.

Information About the Local Option Levy

Lane Fire Authority provides fire suppression, emergency medical and life safety services to 45,000 people over 282 square miles in the heart of the Willamette Valley. EMS accounts for approximately 80% of emergency calls. Full-time and volunteer emergency personnel respond to approximately 7,400 calls per year.

In 2021 voters approved a local option levy to fund daily operations. This levy is up for renewal and our fire authority is asking voters to increase it by $0.20 per $1,000 of assessed property value during the November 4, 2025, general election.

Costs are higher than the revenue we have to provide emergency services. At this point, the fire authority is using reserves to maintain service levels, which is not sustainable.

Challenges to service

Call volumes have increased almost 20% since voters approved our local option levy in 2021. The fire authority requires additional firefighters and staffing quarters to respond to calls and reduce response times.

More calls also mean added costs and these costs are higher due to inflation. These costs are out of the fire authority’s control but must be paid to continue to provide service. Here are examples of how costs have increased since the last local option levy in 2021:

Ambulance licensing fees - 220%
Overtime- 72% (So there are enough firefighters to respond to calls.)
Maintenance and repair costs for fire and EMS equipment - 79%
Federal and state mandates (FICA, Workers Compensation, PERS, Paid Leave Oregon) - 60%
Insurance for the fire authority – 48%
Health care costs – 27%
911 Dispatch services - 19%

Proposed solution

Our local option levy funds daily operations. The levy would fund two additional firefighters and a modular building to provide staffing quarters at Station 109 on Spencer Creek. This will reduce response times and improve our ability to respond to multiple emergencies throughout the fire authority. The levy also will fund ongoing increasing costs to provide service. Here’s the math based on data as of July 16, 2025:

Funding by Local Option Levy: +$640,347

Items Funded:

Increasing Costs/Operations -$142,991

Two firefighters, wages and benefits -$322,356

Staffing Quarters -$175,000

$640,347

The levy request would cost an additional $20 per $100,000 of assessed property value. For example, the owner of a $400,000 home would pay an additional $6.67 per month or $80 per year.

While the levy funds daily operations, voter-approved bonds are necessary to fund capital projects. The fire authority may consider a bond within the next two to three years for station renovations and to replace aging apparatus.

Fire Chief Dale Borland welcomes your questions at 541-935-2226 ext. 203 or DaleBorland@lanefire.org.