A local option levy, also known as an operating levy, is a funding option that must be approved by voters. The levy is a tax with a rate that is determined by a property owner’s taxable assessed value of their structures and land. This levy was voted on by voters in both the City of Bend and the Deschutes Rural Fire Protection District #2.

Bend Fire & Rescue uses levy funding to pay for staff and expenses related to staffing. Levy funding helps in hiring firefighter/paramedics and emergency medical technicians, purchasing equipment, and providing essential training. These resources greatly reduce response times, which has been shown to improve health outcomes for patients.

Levies can last for up to five years before expiration, and voters must approve a renewal or a new levy.

Yes. In 2014, Bend area voters approved a 20-cent per $1,000 of taxable assessed property value, which initially provided close to $2.6 million a year for Bend Fire & Rescue. Voters approved a renewal of this levy in 2018. As Bend has grown and property valuations increased, so have the funds generated by the levy. In 2023, the 20-cent levy provided roughly $3.5 million dollars for emergency operations, fire and medical services. This levy funding allowed Bend Fire & Rescue to increase the number of emergency vehicles available to respond to calls, which reduced emergency response times, or the amount of time it takes crews to get to an emergency after 911 receives a call.

Specifically, with revenue from the existing levy, Bend Fire & Rescue developed an Ambulance Operator program, which responds to non-life-threatening medical calls and transports these patients to the hospital. This Basic Life Support program keeps emergency vehicles available for life-threatening emergencies and other critical calls. In addition, the levy revenue was used to hire additional firefighter/paramedics and staff to manage and train crews. 

Since 2014, the call volume, or number of calls received, has increased 60% for Bend Fire & Rescue. By 2029, Bend Fire & Rescue’s call volume is expected to increase another 38%.

The new cost is $0.76 cents per $1,000 of taxable assessed value (a 56-cent increase). The levy increase allowed Bend Fire & Rescue to retain the firefighter/paramedics and services from expired levy funding, and to expand services to keep up with needs of the growing community now and into the future.

The former levy rate had not changed since 2014. Bend Fire & Rescue is attempting to keep up with today’s call volume and expenses with a levy amount from a decade ago. Due to Oregon constitutional limitations, Bend’s permanent tax rate cannot be increased to provide for increased need for services.

Bend's tax rate is one of the lowest in Oregon due to State Measures 5 and 50. Growth demands are outpacing revenue, and property taxes are split between several crucial core services.

Increased equipment and personnel costs have left Bend Fire & Rescue with a declining fund balance that will lead to a budget shortfall when the former levy expired in June 2024. Levy revenue is essential to continue providing fire and medical services.

The current levy rate is the lowest amount Bend Fire & Rescue could ask for to maintain operations, and to sustain Bend Fire & Rescue until 2029.

There are several contributing factors as to how we chose the levy rate of $0.76 cents per $1,000 tax assessed value of a property’s structures and land: 

• The levy rate had not been increased since 2014. Bend Fire & Rescue had been working with the same funding rate set a decade ago. Growing needs outpaced the existing funding.
• The call volume has increased by 60% since 2014. This means more demand for service and more resources are needed to respond to the growing call volume.
• A growing community also means more people on roads and more people needing to be served by the City's core services.  This need means that the City's general fund is being split further and further to staff emergency responders, repair roads and build much needed infrastructure.
• Inflation has had a significant impact on costs to the department.
• New development does not result in an equal increase to tax revenue, resulting in a need to seek additional operating funds from the voters in the form of levies to provide services.
• Between now and 2029, the call volume is anticipated to increase another 38%.

The rate was also chosen based on voter feedback from a survey conducted in December 2022. The survey tested a higher rate with respondents than what will be on the May ballot. The results of the survey pointed towards concerns about rising costs of living and the economic climate, which encouraged Bend Fire & Rescue and Rural District to lower the proposed levy rate by 5 cents. Each cent of the levy rate represents about $170,000 of revenue annually.

The average cost for property owners in the City and Rural District equates to about $19 per month. This amount is based on a property with a taxable assessed value of $300,000.

Taxable assessed value is the amount that the local tax authority has estimated a property owner’s structures and land to be. In Oregon, this amount is typically much lower than market value due to a cap on property tax that was put in place by State Measures 5 and 50. Deschutes County property owners can check their taxable assessed value on the Deschutes County Tax Assessor’s website, Dial – Deschutes County Property Information.

Oregon State Measures 5 and 50 are really the key as to why local governments in Oregon aren't receiving enough operating funding from property taxes, and why organizations like Bend Fire & Rescue have to ask voters to approve bonds and levies.

If you live in Bend or the surrounding area, it’s obvious that the community is experiencing growth. New homes are being built at extraordinary rates. These homes (or any homes built after Measures 5 and 50 were put in place in the 90s) do contribute to the overall tax base, but due to these measures, housing is assessed at a rate much lower than market value, and the assessed value is what property taxes are based on. Bend also has one of the lowest property tax rates in the state, even compared to our neighbors in Redmond. This is because when Measures 5 and 50 were put in place, tax assessed value of properties were capped to only grow 3% each year.

So, what does this have to do with new construction? The rate for new housing is based on the assessed value of comparable houses in the area. This means that increasing market value, even of new construction, does not result in an equal increase to tax revenue, resulting in a need to seek additional operating funds from the voters in the form of levies to provide services.

For more information about assessed value of homes, including informational videos can be found at the Deschutes County Tax Assessor’s webpage: deschutes.org/assessor

Bend Fire & Rescue has continued the programs started with the 2014 levy funding, and paid for staff and expenses related to staffing such as hiring firefighter/ paramedics and emergency medical technicians, purchasing equipment, and providing essential training.

Funding was used to retain 10 positions formerly funded by the existing levy and a one-time infusion of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and to fund an additional 10 positions to meet growing demands for service through 2029. 

• Firefighter/Paramedics
  • Retain nine firefighter/paramedics: These existing positions are funded with temporary, one-time American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding that expires in June 2024.
  • Hire six firefighter/paramedics: These new positions will staff a fourth Advanced Life Support ambulance to help cover our 1,450 square mile service area.
• Emergency Medical Technicians
  • Create three emergency medical technician positions: These positions support the Ambulance Operator program, a Basic Life Support staffing model that responds to non-emergent calls for service and transport and keeps Advanced Life Support resources available for life-threatening emergencies. Funding will increase a Basic Life Support ambulance from 12 to 24 hours.
• Equipment, Training and Operations
  • Retain one business manager and hire one ambulance biller: These positions support growing staff administratively. 
  • Support training: To help Bend Fire & Rescue stay on the cutting edge of emergency medical care.
  • Purchase materials and equipment: Like medical supplies, fuel, personal protective equipment and vehicles.