Voters to consider GCFD 7, ML, WC funding measures on ballot
Levy, sales tax propositions on tap.
Updated
EPHRATA — Voters within the City of Moses Lake, Grant County Fire District No. 7, and Wilson Creek Cemetery District will decide three proposed funding measures listed on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
For passage, the fire and cemetery district levy propositions must receive 60% voter approval. Moses Lake's public safety sales tax increase needs a simple-majority vote.
Grant County elections officials will begin mailing out ballots later next week. To be counted, ballots must be returned in person to designated collection sites, including the courthouse in Ephrata, or postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Night. Officials recommend mailing them several days in advance to ensure they are properly postmarked.
Information regarding the upcoming election can be found on the Grant County website. It includes sample ballots, drop box locations, maps and forms, voter guide and registration, past results, and more.
Here’s a summary of the three funding propositions:
Grant County Fire District No. 7 levy lift
LAKEVIEW PARK — In 2022, voters within Grant County Fire District No. 7 approved an excess property tax levy to fund emergency medical services, which had previously been paid from the department’s general fire protection budget. The levy rate was set at 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation.
Since then, those collected funds have helped pay for medical supplies, ambulance fuel and maintenance costs, training and response reimbursements for emergency medical technicians, county dispatching fees, insurance, and administration and reporting fees.
But officials said the number of EMS calls has increased substantially in recent years and now make up about 85% of the district’s service responses. Additionally, federal grant funding for two full-time EMT positions is set to expire at the end of this year.
As a result, voters are being asked on Nov. 3 to raise the levy collection rate to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation. If approved, the levy lift would be in effect for six years beginning in 2027. For the owner of a $300,000 home, the rate increase would equate to about $6.25 a month, or $75 a year.
That would generate an estimated $250,000 annually to support another ambulance, EMS staffing, medical equipment and supplies, and increased intermediate life-support capabilities, officials say.
Fire District 7 is headquartered in Lakeview near Soap Lake and maintains a satellite fire station at Blue Lake. The district’s service area also includes the Grant Orchards and Adrian areas eastward toward Pinto Ridge Road.
City of Moses Lake public safety tax
MOSES LAKE — Residents here will consider increasing their local sales-and-use tax by 0.1% — the equivalent of 1 cent on every $10 purchase — to provide additional funding dedicated to police and public safety services.
Rather than enact the increase themselves, Moses Lake city council members in June unanimously opted to place the propositionon the ballot for voters to decide.
If approved, the sales-tax hike would take effect in April 2027 and is expected to generate an estimated $1.27 million annually in additional revenue to address inflationary costs and rising demands for service.
The city has conducted two prior public meetings on the proposition and a third is scheduled Wednesday, Oct. 7, from 7-8 p.m. at the Pillar Rock Grill, 1373 Road F.2-NE.
Currently, the city’s local rate is 8.5% on purchases subject to sales taxes. The proposition would raise the rate to 8.6%.
Wilson Creek Cemetery District M&O replacement levy
WILSON CREEK — Local voters are being asked to renew an existing one-year, maintenance-and-operations levy for the Wilson Creek Cemetery District.
The estimated tax rate in 2027 remains unchanged from the current rate of 17.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation within the district. It would collect $12,000 next year to pay for M&O expenses, up $500 from the current collection amount.
Area residents have traditionally supported this annual measure: in 2025, it received nearly 79% voter approval.
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Voters to consider GCFD 7, ML, WC funding measures on ballot
Levy, sales tax propositions on tap.
EPHRATA — Voters within the City of Moses Lake, Grant County Fire District No. 7, and Wilson Creek Cemetery District will decide three proposed funding measures listed on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
For passage, the fire and cemetery district levy propositions must receive 60% voter approval. Moses Lake's public safety sales tax increase needs a simple-majority vote.
Grant County elections officials will begin mailing out ballots later next week. To be counted, ballots must be returned in person to designated collection sites, including the courthouse in Ephrata, or postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Night. Officials recommend mailing them several days in advance to ensure they are properly postmarked.
Information regarding the upcoming election can be found on the Grant County website. It includes sample ballots, drop box locations, maps and forms, voter guide and registration, past results, and more.
Here’s a summary of the three funding propositions:
Grant County Fire District No. 7 levy lift
LAKEVIEW PARK — In 2022, voters within Grant County Fire District No. 7 approved an excess property tax levy to fund emergency medical services, which had previously been paid from the department’s general fire protection budget. The levy rate was set at 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation.
Since then, those collected funds have helped pay for medical supplies, ambulance fuel and maintenance costs, training and response reimbursements for emergency medical technicians, county dispatching fees, insurance, and administration and reporting fees.
But officials said the number of EMS calls has increased substantially in recent years and now make up about 85% of the district’s service responses. Additionally, federal grant funding for two full-time EMT positions is set to expire at the end of this year.
As a result, voters are being asked on Nov. 3 to raise the levy collection rate to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation. If approved, the levy lift would be in effect for six years beginning in 2027. For the owner of a $300,000 home, the rate increase would equate to about $6.25 a month, or $75 a year.
That would generate an estimated $250,000 annually to support another ambulance, EMS staffing, medical equipment and supplies, and increased intermediate life-support capabilities, officials say.
Fire District 7 is headquartered in Lakeview near Soap Lake and maintains a satellite fire station at Blue Lake. The district’s service area also includes the Grant Orchards and Adrian areas eastward toward Pinto Ridge Road.
City of Moses Lake public safety tax
MOSES LAKE — Residents here will consider increasing their local sales-and-use tax by 0.1% — the equivalent of 1 cent on every $10 purchase — to provide additional funding dedicated to police and public safety services.
Rather than enact the increase themselves, Moses Lake city council members in June unanimously opted to place the proposition on the ballot for voters to decide.
If approved, the sales-tax hike would take effect in April 2027 and is expected to generate an estimated $1.27 million annually in additional revenue to address inflationary costs and rising demands for service.
The city has conducted two prior public meetings on the proposition and a third is scheduled Wednesday, Oct. 7, from 7-8 p.m. at the Pillar Rock Grill, 1373 Road F.2-NE.
Currently, the city’s local rate is 8.5% on purchases subject to sales taxes. The proposition would raise the rate to 8.6%.
Wilson Creek Cemetery District M&O replacement levy
WILSON CREEK — Local voters are being asked to renew an existing one-year, maintenance-and-operations levy for the Wilson Creek Cemetery District.
The estimated tax rate in 2027 remains unchanged from the current rate of 17.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation within the district. It would collect $12,000 next year to pay for M&O expenses, up $500 from the current collection amount.
Area residents have traditionally supported this annual measure: in 2025, it received nearly 79% voter approval.