The city of Renton approved placing a levy on the ballot to continue funding King County’s Medic One/EMS System.

At the June 9 meeting, the Renton City Council passed a resolution to place a new funding levy, through 2031, on the November general election ballot.

The King County Medic One/EMS system is primarily funded by a countywide, voter-approved EMS levy. The current 6-year levy expires at the end of 2025. The current levy had an initial levy rate of 26.5 cents per $1,000 assessed property value and generated $1.115 billion over its lifespan.

The proposed 2026-2031 levy would have an initial levy rate of 25 cents per $1,000 assessed value, and is anticipated to generate $1.5 billion in revenue.

Per Washington code, the legislative authority of 75 percent of cities with a population exceeding 50,000 must approve the placement of the countywide levy on the ballot. Renton is one of the 11 cities needed to place the levy.

Renton Deputy Chief of EMS/Health and Safety Dan Alexander said the system serves 2.3 million people throughout King County and provides service every two minutes on average. In 2024, the King County Medic One/EMS system responded to 255,000 calls in King County.

“The survival rate for cardiac arrest in 2023 was 51 percent throughout the regions, which is two to three times more likely to survive compared to other counties, other major systems,” Alexander said. “It’s one of the best in the country for that.”

Alexander said they serve a population of about 137,000 between Fire Districts 25 and 40 and the city of Renton, and they have around 25,000 calls a year.

“The ability for us to have our (basic life support) training and funding for EMS calls, which ends up being about 75 percent of the calls we do, comes from the levy funds,” Alexander said. “It definitely has a huge impact on the top notch EMS we have in King County and the ability to serve millions of people.”

Alexander said if the levy does not pass, it would have a “devastating effect” for EMS services in King County.