It’s officially official!

King County Elections certified the election results at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and South King Fire and Rescue’s bond measure has passed with a 61.71 percent YES vote!

Now what happens?

The fire district will sell bonds to make the capital improvements as promised. Your fire district just received an AA+ bond rating from Standard and Poor’s. Their assessment rates the financial strength of municipal organizations, and that rating has a direct impact on the cost of bonds. South King Fire and Rescue has received the highest (best) rating of any fire district in the state, which will result in a lower tax burden for our citizens. The rating agent specifically said that your fire department “was a well-run district with very good finances.”

I am humbled that our citizens supported our service with a super-majority vote. I am also very pleased to see that the care our staff exercises in handling the district’s finances is recognized in this great bond rating.

The next three years will bring many changes to your neighborhood fire stations. These changes include seismic upgrades, roof repairs, new apparatus fueling facilities and emergency generators. All of these improvements will help our response capabilities after an earthquake or disaster. The stations will also be equipped with decontamination facilities that will reduce the threat of cancers that are known to be an increased risk to our firefighters. We have individuals and committees already working on the design and implementation of the plan. We will keep our residents up-to-date on all the changes as they happen, but we also want to hear from you. Follow us on Facebook at “South King Fire and Rescue,” call us at 253-946-7347 or just stop in at your local station, meet the firefighters and ask what the plan is for that station. Thank you again for your support and vote of confidence.

Al Church, Fire Chief