The fire district serving West Richland and other unincorporated parts of Benton County is considering asking voters to up their property taxes so it can meet increasing emergency calls and growing expenses. 

Benton County Fire District 4’s board of commissioners has been discussing seeking a levy lid lift recently, according to a release. Fire district officials are encouraging residents to attend the next public meeting at 5 p.m. April 2 at Station 420 at 2604 Bombing Range Road in West Richland to learn about the issue. 

“These conversations are about making sure we can continue meeting the community’s needs as demand grows,” said fire chief Paul Carlyle in a statement. “Our goal is to maintain reliable response times and the level of service residents expect from their fire district.” 

A levy lid lift would allow the fire district, which is primarily funded through property taxes, to increase its tax collections by more than the statutory 1% annual growth limit for up to six years. 

BCFD4 has three stations to serve about a 52 square mile area encompassing West Richland and north to the Yakima River. It responded to 2,350 calls in 2025, a 160% increase over the past 15 years. At the same time, parts and maintenance for some emergency equipment increased 220%, firefighter protective equipment 129% and cybersecurity upgrades 251% in the last year alone.