Island County Fire District 3 is feeling the economic pinch along with almost everyone else.

As of Jan. 1, the district will cut back the hours of part-time firefighters by two hours per shift, Fire Chief Dan Stout said.

Meanwhile, the district’s proposed budget for next year has been pared back to this year’s level.

And district officials are having second thoughts about going to taxpayers next year for additional levy money to build a new headquarters and training center in Bayview.

“Bottom line, we’re not going to ask taxpayers for any more than necessary in this climate,” Stout said. “We don’t want to get slam-dunked.”

“We’re just going to have to adjust and make sure we live within our means,” he said.

As of the first of the year, the shifts of part-time firefighters will continue at a maximum of three per week, but the new hours will be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Current hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“The call volumes are very low at that time of day,” Stout said, referring to the early morning.

He said most of calls during that time are medical, for which Whidbey General Hospital’s emergency medical unit has primary responsibility.

“That’s been our analysis,” Stout said. “We assist them as best we can.”

The district has six full-time employees and six part-time firefighters, who are paid by the hour. The rest are volunteers, who receive a small stipend for each incident they respond to and for training, Stout said.

There currently are 87 volunteers on the district’s roster, he said. The total stipend payout for the year November through November was $143,000, he said.

Stout said he has submitted a proposed budget for next year for review by the district’s board of directors. He expects the final budget to be approved at the board’s February meeting.

The district annually receives revenue from a property tax levy of 51 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. This year’s total revenue was a little over $2 million, Stout said.

This year’s operating budget was $1.8 million, and Stout proposes that next year’s budget be about the same.

“I’ve cut a little bit out of a lot of stuff,” Stout said.

“We didn’t add a lot of new stuff. We’re just trying to keep up with what our needs are.”

He said to cut costs, the district also plans to limit the amount of less-essential outside training for personnel.

Meanwhile, the district is uncertain how to proceed with a proposed new headquarters and training center at Bayview Corner, on property the district owns across from Bayview School.

Earlier in the year, the district was expected to ask taxpayers in 2009 for an additional $4 million for the Bayview project, and to make needed improvements to existing facilities.

Officials were considering a 25-cent levy increase in the property tax lid, from 51 cents to 76 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

“We’re not sure we’ll do that next year,” Stout said. “It’s probably not a good time.”

He said the district probably will continue to do preliminary planning and obtain permits, while searching for alternative means of funding for the project.

“We’re a victim of our own success, because we’ve been very responsible fiscally,” Stout said.

Island County Fire District 3 basically covers 66 miles from the south end of the island north to a mile beyond Honeymoon Bay Road.

Its six stations serve about 16,000 people, depending on the number of tourists around. The district headquarters is at 5535 Cameron Road in Freeland.

Earlier this month, the district opened it’s new $1.5 million fire station in Langley.

The station, at 820 Camano Ave., across the street from the Island County Fairgrounds, is staffed exclusively by volunteers and houses two fire engines, a marine rescue unit, an aid unit and a technical rescue unit.

The 2.9-acre site is shared by Island Transit, which has established a park-and-ride lot surrounding the station.

Stout said the station was built with cash on hand and is debt-free.

Last week, the district took delivery on three new four-wheel-drive Honda SUVs for its Medical Emergency Response Vehicle program, Stout said.

Launched in 2001, the program gets medical help in a hurry to 911 emergencies on the South End.

The Hondas replace three 1998 vehicles, and are equipped to handle medical problems.

One is stationed at the Langley fire station. The other two are at the Freeland and Clinton stations, and can be checked out by volunteer emergency medical technicians (EMTs) for three hours or up to three days.

When an EMT checks out a MERV, he or she is on call the entire time. EMTs wear informal district uniforms and drive the vehicles wherever they go, day or night.

They are required to respond immediately to all medical calls in their service areas.

Meanwhile, the district is recruiting for the next volunteer firefighter training academy, set to begin in January.

The next program begins the first week in January and will run through the first week of May.

Sessions will be from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Day Road Fire Station in Greenbank.

For information about the program, call 321-1533 or Click here.