WASHINGTON CITY, Utah — Inside the Washington City Fire House, they're not awaiting the next emergency call but preparing for it.
"This is a huge milestone for Washington City," said Captain Chris Noel of the Washington City Fire Department.
That milestone — the recently passed Emergency Services Sales Tax in Washington County.
Leadership and first responders said the burden of rescues involving those visiting nearby parks and recreation areas is a concern, and the expected multimillion-dollar first responder boost is going to change things.
"It's going to help a ton," Noel said. "We're going to be able to get the apparatus that we need and further equipment that we need to be self-sufficient, to be able to have all the personnel trained in all the right areas."
"I was happy the vote was made by our citizens," said Washington City councilman Kurt Ivie. "They're the ones that's going to be paying for the little bit of tax increase, so I'm glad the voters voted on that."
In nearby Santa Clara, that picture is still unclear.
"The measure for Santa Clara is really close right now. It's not been called yet," Ivie said.
Any tax increase is never an easy ask at the ballot box.
"We never want to raise taxes," Ivie said. "I don't want to raise taxes."
For Washington City, getting this passed involves a budget balancing act for some voters.
"This measure passed as it did last night. The city council has committed to reduce the Washington City portion of their property tax by 50%," Ivie said.
First responders reading for the future said they're grateful for the vote of confidence from the people they seek to serve every day.
"We can't thank the people of Washington City enough for seeing this through," Noel said.