Letter to Shoreline residents from Fire Chief Matt Cowan

Citizens of Shoreline, 

It is with a very happy and humble heart that I write this letter today. As you know, we recently had two ballot measures in front of our voters, a Fire Benefit Charge (FBC) and a Capital Bond. I am overwhelmed by the support this Community has shown for its fire department. The FBC is certainly a more complicated mechanism to understand, and it was difficult to get adequate information out to everyone so that they could make an informed vote. To receive a nearly 75% approval for a measure such as this is humbling. And to follow that with an approval of over 80% for the bond almost seems surreal. I cannot thank you enough for your support!

As we started to emerge from the recession, the Fire Department was confronted with a dire situation on some of our equipment and apparatus, but as equally important we were faced with a budget that would rapidly become unsustainable. We now have diversified our revenue sources, and made it more appropriate and commensurate with the needs of our Community. We will use the relief this provides to proactively address future needs and hopefully eliminate the need for capital bonds in the future.  

The Department plans to initiate some of our projects as soon as it is feasible; i.e., construction of a replacement Station 63, purchasing a replacement ladder truck, and constructing a new storage building at Station 61, our Headquarters. The Department wants to take advantage of the current lower interest and construction rates, both of which are projected to increase in the near future. We will also be looking at the timing of future purchases to determine the most fiscally responsible schedule to maximize purchasing power. As these purchases are made our plan will be to let everyone know so that they understand where their tax dollars are going.  

Finally, I cannot overstate how thankful we all are for the support that you have shown Shoreline Fire Department. It is very exciting to know that we will be able to meet the needs of our Community now and into the future. Hopefully, we will run into you at an upcoming public event so that we can thank you in person and show you what that support means to us. Please let us know if there is anything that we can do for you and thank you, thank you, thank you again!    

Sincerely,

Matt Cowan, Fire Chief

Shoreline Fire Department