Southside, Fire 17 levies pass; Fire 16 short

The Southside School District’s replacement levy and Mason County Fire Protection District 17’s levy passed, and Mason County Fire Protection District 16’s levy failed on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The Southside School District’s replacement levy was approved with 617 “yes” votes for 56.76%, with 470 “no” votes for 43.24%. It needed a simple majority to pass.

The district, which has about 200 students in kindergarten through seventh grade, asked for the replacement of an expiring Educational Programs and Operations levy that will collect $1.97 per $1,000 assessed property value in 2023 through 2026. That levy will collect $641,803 in 2023, $673,894 in 2024, $707,588 in 2025 and $742,968 in 2026.

Mason County Fire Protection District 16’s levy failed, with 688 people voting for it for 46.33%, and 797 voting against it for 53.67%.

“Our initial response is disappointment of not being able to share the need of the fire district with the voters,” Deputy Chief Greg Seals wrote to the Journal following the release of the first results. “Levy lids can be confusing on how they will impact the property owners come tax time for many of the fire districts and even more so for the end user of the fire district’s services. At this point, the administration will be looking to see if the current level of services can be maintained or if reductions will be needed moving forward. This certainly delays the opportunity for increasing staffing to ensure a prompt response and can have an impact on our insurance rating, affecting insurance premiums.”

Mason County Fire Protection District 17’s levy passed with 248 “yes” votes for 71.06%, and 101 “no” votes for 28.94%.