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FRIDAY, NOV. 7, 2014
ELECTION 2014: Voters back incumbents Jayapal to replace retiring Kline in 37th District BY DEAN A. RADFORD dradford@rentonreporter.com
New firefighters from Renton and Auburn train Tuesday at Renton’s Fire Station No. 14 training center. Like Auburn, Renton is considering the creation of a Regional Fire Authority to free up money in the city budget and provide stable revenue for the department . BRIAN BECKLEY, Renton Reporter
Should fire service go from RFD to RFA? BY BRIAN BECKLEY bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
Voters in Renton may face a choice in near future to remove the fire department from city books in favor of creating a Regional Fire Authority, with an ability to create its own revenue stream to pay for operation. Though still in its infancy and needing voter approval, city officials hope making the switch to an authority will free up millions of dollars in the city budget to help meet projected gaps between revenue and expenses. However, creating a fire authority would loosen city control over the department and operations, which is the choice voters will have to consider should the idea ever make it to a ballot. “For me it makes economic sense,” said Councilman Ed Prince, who chairs the city’s RFA Planning Committee. “But if the voters don’t want it, the voters won’t vote for it.”
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Authorized by a 2004 state law, a regional fire authority is a special-purpose tax district created by voters that combines at least two existing fire districts into a single entity. The boundaries would be coextensive to the boundaries of the entities that join. In Renton’s case, the Authority would be a combination of Renton Fire Department and King County Fire District No. 25, which presently contracts with Renton for service. King County Fire District No. 20, which serves Skyway, is also part of the discussions, but is presently a non-voting observer, as determined at a recent planning meeting. The process, however, is just getting under way. For the city and the fire department, the key to creating an authority is a dedicated, sustainable funding stream for the department. “From a department standpoint, it gives us a budget authority,” said Chief Mark Peterson recently. “We’re not reliant on the city budget, we’ll be reliant on our own funds.” “As we look out ahead, the idea of trying to find a more predictable funding source for fire service is something the council needs to consider,” said Chief Administrative Officer Jay Covington. Covington said the administration began talking to the [ more RFA page 4 ]
Tiffany Park residents challenge school board at hearing BY TRACEY COMPTON tcompton@rentonreporter.com
A room full of Tiffany Park residents and concerned citizens turned out to express their frustration with the Renton School District’s proposed land sale to a private home developer during a public hearing on Oct. 29. A total of 12 people addressed the school board. Some took issue with the fact that the district did not follow proper procedures [ more TIFFANY PARK page 5 ]
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The City of Renton is looking into creating a Regional Fire Authority to provide a stable revenue stream
Renton’s state and federal legislative representation didn’t change at all following the initial tally in Tuesday’s general election. There was one open seat in the city’s Olympia delegation. Pramila Jayapal was easily outdistancing fellow Democrat Louis Watanabe to replace long-time state Sen. Adam Kline in the 37th District with 66 percent of the vote. There were no local races or measures on Renton ballots in this election. The Tuesday night results were the only available to meet the Renton Reporter’s print deadline. The latest results are available online at kingcounty.gov. The Elections Department will update results by 4:30 p.m. most weekdays until election certification on Nov. 25. Results may not be updated every day if there [ more ELECTION page 19 ]