After scaling down its bond measure and spending considerable time educating the community on the need for more money, Hermiston Fire & Emergency Services officials can celebrate after voters passed the measure Tuesday night.
The passage means the Hermiston and Stanfield Fire Districts will dissolve and form into one combined district. It also means the Hermiston department will now be able to fully staff a second station in Hermiston and keep up with increases in service calls.
Voters in Hermiston approved the measure to dissolve the Hermiston district with 60 percent of the vote, with Stanfield voters approving the measure with 83 percent of the vote. A total of 60.85 percent of voters in both cities approved the formation of the new combined district.
The measure will cost taxpayers $1.75 per $1,000 of assessed property value, down from the $2/$1,000 in the previous measure that failed. The district currently receives $1.20 per $1,000 of assessed value, which is about 84 cents per $1,000 less than the state average.
Hermiston taxpayers, however, will not see their tax bills increase even if the measure passes because state law limits the amount of property taxes which can be paid for “general government” services to $10 per $1,000, and Hermiston residents are already capped out at the $10 level.
In other election news, Umatilla County Commissioner Bill Elfering defeated Tom Bailor with nearly 61 percent of the vote.
Jon Lieallen defeated John Ballard for Circuit Court Judge position No. 2 with more than 69 percent of the vote. Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann will serve a four-year term after running unopposed and Hermiston Municipal Court Judge Tom Creasing will also return to the job after running unopposed.
For complete election results, visit the Umatilla County website.
