$630 million levy to fund Medic One to be on ballot

A levy projected to raise about $630 million for emergency medical services in King County will be on the November ballot.

The Metropolitan King County Council voted unanimously Tuesday to put the six-year levy before voters. With a rate of 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, the levy translates to an annual $120 tax on a $400,000 home.

The money from the levy would fund Medic One services, which include more than 30 fire districts, said James Apa of Public Health — Seattle and King County. The current six-year levy is ready to expire.

Firefighters and emergency-service providers from across the region came out in support, including Shoreline Mayor Robert Ransom, who suffered a heart attack in 1997 and credits his recovery to Medic One.

"As a user and survivor of the system, I am grateful for the system," he said.

County Councilmember Julia Patterson said that unlike many emergency-response services across the country, Medic One is not a patchwork of providers but rather a unified system.

"And because of our strong system, cardiac-arrest victims here are three times more likely to survive," said Patterson, adding later, "Our region has been called, quote, 'The best place in the world to have a heart attack.' "

The levy could be reduced in later years, council members said, if there are excess reserve funds.

"I think this [levy] gives our emergency medical community and our firefighters what they need to do their job — and to do their job in a changing world," Councilmember Reagan Dunn said.

The council also established an Emergency Medical Services Advisory Task Force — to include, among others, representatives from the council, the county executive and various fire departments and cities — to develop recommendations for the 2013 levy renewal.

Linda Shen: 206-464-3301 or lshen@seattletimes.com