A Burbank-area fire district will have to work with the funding it has to maintain current services because voters rejected the proposed property tax levy increase, according to final election results.
The outcome of the ballot measure in Walla Walla County Fire District No. 5 was decided by just six votes.
The majority — 461 voters, or 50.33% — voted to reject the measure, which would have raised the current levy to $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value. There were 455 voters, or 49.67%, who voted to approve the increase.
District Chief Mike Wickstrom previously told the Union-Bulletin that the increase was needed to maintain current services and respond to an increased number of service calls. The funds would have allowed the department to add three to four additional firefighter positions, he said.