Fire District 13 Chief to submit resignation

Fire District 13 Chief Roy Horn announced last week that he would submit his resignation on July 1, because his contract expires on Dec. 31.

Horn told the board at the Thursday, Jan. 26 meeting that he would put in a letter of resignation only because his contract requires him to give six months notice, and he wants the board to do “succession planning.”

When pressed later on whether he intends to retire, Horn said, “It depends on the board.”

He said, “I want to put it in the board’s mind to have these things addressed.”

When Horn made his announcement, board chairman Chuck Hedlund said they’d likely hold a closed session to address the issue.

According to the district’s financial records, the district Fire Chief’s salary was $100,281 last year. Horn’s wife, Maggie, is also employed by the district as an administrative assistant, and according to district finance figures, the pay for that position was $26,310 last year.

Chief Horn said, “I enjoy what I do, I’ll do anything I can to make this place a success. I put 20 years into it.” He didn’t rule out staying longer on the job if the board wants him to. But he says he needs an answer in time to make other plans.

This has been a challenging year for the district. In its initial budget the district anticipated receiving $250,000 from the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community for fire and emergency medical services this year. Instead, the tribe agreed to fund $150,000. The majority of the district’s calls are on tax-exempt reservation land.

Meanwhile, the district expects to receive about $478,000 in property tax revenue paid by people who live on “fee simple” or privately owned land within the reservation boundaries and by people who are off the reservation in Anacortes to the west and on the east side of the Swinomish Channel.

According to the Skagit County Assessor’s Office, people who live on non-reservation land east of the channel accounted for 27 percent of the district’s tax revenue last year. But that area, mostly farmland, generated only a small fraction of the emergency calls.

Those residents in the Channel Drive and Pleasant Ridge areas on the east side of the channel have been involved in efforts to break away from Fire District 13 to be annexed to nearby Fire District 2.

Fire 13 is half-owner of the fire station near the La Conner roundabout and had planned to staff the station full time to serve people in its territory on the east side of the channel

But the Town of La Conner, which operates its own fire department, recently informed District 13 that it will buy out its 50 percent interest in that fire station, which will make it impossible for District 13 to staff the station. The town owns half the station and has first rights for a buyout.

Horn said previously that Fire 13 will continue to serve its taxpayers on the east side even if the district has to build a new fire station.

A new revenue projection for 2017 submitted to the board last week shows the district more than $191,000 in the red by the end of the year. Horn said that number is very misleading because the budget shows the district spending $439,000 on capital projects.

If the district doesn’t spend money on capital improvements for things like buildings and big equipment, it will actually have a cushion of money left at the end of this year.