Aug. 30—Bigfork Fire District voters are set to decide on a proposed mill levy and bond to fund a new station and improve pay for firefighters.
The proposed 20-year bond is for up to $15 million, which would cover the cost of a new fire station, and the permanent mill levy would generate $1.2 million in the first year. Bigfork Fire Public Information Officer Al Benetiz said the mill levy will go toward hiring more firefighters, equipment purchases and raising pay.
Ballots were mailed out Aug. 22 and are due back to the Flathead County Election Department by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
The fire department provides firefighting, emergency medical services and public safety services to Bigfork and the surrounding area. The fire district covers 75 square miles, while the EMS district covers 168 miles, according to Benitez. There are nine full-time firefighters on staff, with two and an officer required for each shift. Benitez said they have about 15 volunteers with the district.
If the mill levy passes, the first order of business would be hiring six additional firefighters, Benitez said, including three seasonal firefighters who would be given a year-round position. The district would then recruit three more, with the goal of having five full-time firefighters per shift. Each firefighter also requires $25,000 in protective equipment, which is replaced every 10 years.
The permanent mill levy will generate $20.62 per $100,000 of a home’s taxable value annually. A home with a $600,000 taxable value would pay $142.16 annually.
If approved, the mill levy will include the 2025-26 tax year, and the department would receive the first funds in December.
The district fields an average of 1,400 calls a year, with 80% or more being medical calls, according to Benitez.
“That average age in Bigfork is about 54.7, compared to Kalispell, which is around 38 years old, so we have a much older population. The older your population is, the more medical issues people have. And so the vast majority of our calls are medical,” he said.
Out-of-district EMS calls charge a $200 flat rate, since the fire district includes only taxpayers for the service. Benitez said while there have been questions raised about an attempt to expand the current taxing district, officials don’t believe it would pass.
“You could put a ballot measure out there that says, ‘Would you like to get taxed on a service you’re currently getting for free?’ Nobody really tries it, because the answer is always no. So we can at least impose the other district fee, to make it somewhat fair,” he said.
As shown in their call volumes, EMS services are imperative to Bigfork Fire’s service area. If the mill levy passes, officials plan to utilize funds to pay for training and increase wages to attract experienced firefighters and firefighter paramedics, according to Benitez.
There are five out of nine full-time firefighters who are paramedics, which have a higher level of training than EMTs.
All staff have their EMT, which takes six to 10 weeks to complete, Benitez said. Paramedic training is a year-long endeavor, after which firefighters would be able to administer oxygen, medications, splint injuries, perform CPR and interpret EKGs for cardiac arrest patients, care for car crash victims and deliver babies, according to the University of California Los Angeles’ Center for Prehospital Care.
“Our pay for firefighter EMTs is $18.80 an hour, plus benefits. For comparison, our neighbors are paying $24 to $30 an hour,” Benitez said. “Our firefighters don’t get a pay raise until Jan. 1 of 2027 and our neighbors, who are on a fiscal year, just got pay raises July 1 of this year … So, we’d like to adjust that if the mill levy passes.”
Staff pay is between 30-50% lower than the other neighboring fire departments, which Bigfork Fire officials say contributes to decreased employee morale and retention rates.
“We have a lot of people that are sitting here waiting for the election, and if the mill levy doesn’t pass, they’re going to go to our neighboring agencies and make more money … They’d rather stay here, but we had one of our EMT firefighters leave and go to Kalispell, where they got a $10 an hour pay raise,” Benitez said.
Pay is just one aspect of Bigfork Fire that officials would like to address with the mill levy — equipment and vehicle purchases are also at the top of that list.
The cost of replacing a fire engine or water tender has increased significantly, Benitez said, and there are often long wait times to receive the vehicle because they are made to order. The district attempts to replace ambulances and light trucks every seven to 10 years, and heavy equipment is on a 30-year replacement schedule.
Bigfork Fire officials estimate they need $4.2 million for scheduled vehicle replacement in the next five years.
AS BENITEZ walks around the main Bigfork Fire Station, located off Grand Drive, he points out several aspects of the building that he said are not conducive to a quality working or living space for firefighters.
“This entire building is contaminated,” Benitez said. “It’s the fumes from the trucks and the fires, it stays on hoses and protective clothing … we have to clean all of that stuff in here, and that off gassing goes into this air, the same air that we breathe,” he said.
That contamination has accumulated for 45 years, and while it’s hard enough to return to the station and clean equipment right next to the office spaces — there is little to block the fumes from entering the barracks for the firefighters.
If the bond passes, the district’s new fire station would include decontamination bays and showers, as well as a positive pressure air system that filters and conditions air in the living, working and sleeping areas — keeping contaminants and diesel exhaust particulates away from clean areas.
The $15 million, 20-year bond would increase property taxes by $19.84 per $100,000 taxable value a year, $59.51 per $300,000 taxable value a year, or $136.77 per $600,000 taxable value annually.
These costs would be seen in the 2026-27 tax year. The cost per taxpayer is expected to decrease as the population increases.
The station would be built at the 8.65-acre property at 925 Chapman Hill Rd., purchased in 2018. The district engaged architects and engineering firms in 2022 to design a new Station 31 that is expected to meet all current and foreseeable future needs for 50 years.
The new station would include an administrative wing housing the district headquarters, firefighter living/working wing comprised of bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry, kitchen, dining, dayroom, office, workspace, gym and storage spaces. There would also be a public lobby and restrooms, with a multi-purpose meeting/training room.
For vehicles, there would be five pull-through apparatus bays, a decontamination wash bay, a workshop, a gear washroom, the decontamination stations, a medical aid room and more storage areas, for larger equipment.
Additionally, it features an emergency medical helicopter landing area and landscaping designed to blend into the surrounding environment.
“Right now, we sometimes get up to eight walk-in medical calls a week. We’ve administered CPR a number of times in our driveway,” Benitez said. “The new station will have a medical exam room that’s right off the lobby, with a door leading to where the ambulance will park outside.”
Every aspect of the new station’s design is intentional, he continued. It’s one floor because there is a current risk of injury with firefighters rushing down from the barracks to respond to a call, for example.
And if they need to expand the station in the future, it’s been designed to be added onto easily without disrupting services.
“We spent almost three years on this floor plan making it as small as we could get it, because it’s also cost efficient, and yet, it will be serviceable. Not just for today, but for the foreseeable future,” Benitez said.
Bigfork Fire will be hosting open houses of the fire station on Aug. 28, from 6 to 9 p.m., Aug. 31 from 1 to 5 p.m. and Sept. 7 from 1 to 5 p.m.
For more information on the Bigfork Fire’s proposed bond and mill levy, visit their website at bigforkfd.com/.
Ballots must be mailed or delivered to the elections office by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9. Postmarks do not count, ballots received after 8 p.m. on Sept. 9 will not be counted.
A rendering shows the floor plan of a new Station 31 for Bigfork Fire, which will become the district’s headquarters. (photo courtesy of Bigfork Fire)
A rendering of the proposed Bigfork Fire Department building. (Courtesy/Bigfork Fire Department and ThinkOne Architects)
