Two months ago you gave us your overwhelming support for our levy lift question for which we are very grateful We are already making changes to im-prove the level of service we provide and secure nec-essary tools to help lower our insurance ratings.

Our emergency responders, volunteer and career, continue to do a great job of protecting our commu-nity and themselves when they go on calls. We have continued to alter our public education outreach, such as our Fire Prevention Week activities, due to the pandemic. We miss the personal interaction with you and look for-ward to the time when we can resume in person events.

Earlier this year our Board of Fire Commissioners approved our 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. That plan, available on our website, consists of 10 overarch-ing Strategic Initiatives. Many of those initiatives have budgetary implica-tions. Our Board is currently reviewing our draft budget for 2021 which in-cludes a number of requests to help accomplish those initiatives.

Two of the most significant impacts to the budget will be an increase in staffing to help relieve some of the pressure on our volunteers, and pur-chase a new fire engine due to the age of the majority of our fleet. Both of these will have a positive impact on our insurance ratings when we request a re-evaluation by the Washington Surveying & Rating Bureau. We will con-tinue to keep you updated on our progress and appreciate hearing your ide-as and concerns. Please visit our website to learn more, or contact me at 360-321-1533 or chief@swfe.org with questions