Dear Editor,

On behalf of the Board of Fire Commissioners, Citizen Advisory Committee and staff, I want to express our collective appreciation to the community for voting and supporting of our recent maintenance and operations levy.

We will continue to be fiscally responsible and focused on providing quality, cost effective emergency services. With the approval of the levy, we will be able to maintain our current number of firefighters and place a medical aid car back in service.

I also want to thank the Reporter for covering the challenges facing our fire department as well as providing details about the levy. These articles were critical in the delivery of information about the levy and why it was needed.

Over the next year, we will continue to communicate how your levy dollars are helping to save lives through our newsletters.

The past several months have been a valuable learning experience for all of us at the fire department. We have become better listeners and more responsive to the needs of our community.

The community has invested and made a commitment not only to us, but to a safer community.

I want to stress that we do not take this trust lightly. We are committed to using levy funds efficiently and effectively to address the needs of our community.

Our department holds itself to a high degree of accountability, transparency and stewardship of your tax dollars.

Thank you for your continued interest and support of your fire department,

Chief Bradley W. Doerflinger

Maple Valley Fire and

Life Safety