SeaTac voters have refused in a very close contest to raise their property taxes to pay for two new fire stations and hire more firefighters.

Final results, certified by King County Elections Friday, showed 1,526 votes (49.24 percent) favoring Proposition 1 and 1,573 votes (50.76) rejecting it.

Linda Snider, chairwoman of the citizens committee supporting the proposition, said on Sept. 28 that the committee had not discussed whether to request a recount.

Strained relations between former colleagues over the fire levy surfaced at the Sept. 26 council meeting.

Former Mayor Frank Hansen earlier filed a complaint with the state Public Disclosure Commission, charging that city officials used their public offices to heavily promote the proposition in violation of state campaign financing laws.

Hansen cited a city-paid brochure mailed to residents and a DVD shown on the city cable channel.

City Manager Craig Ward countered that the materials were for informational purposes only.

At the council meeting, Deputy Mayor Ralph Shape said he hoped residents had not voted based on "slanted information in the voter's pamphlet and the local newspaper."

He denied that council members held secret meetings to discuss the fire levy proposition.

Snider said the levy's defeat would be "a tremendous loss to the city.

"We didn't stoop to the low level of the opposition," Snider stated. "We didn't defame the city council. I say to the opposition, 'Shame on you.'"

Joe Dixon, who with Hansen wrote the voters pamphlet statement opposing the measure, complained at the council meeting that proposed salary increases for fire personnel were too high.

The measure would have authorized the raising of the property tax rate from $2.77 to $3.10 per $1,000 of assessed home value.

The tax hike would have funded the replacement of two fire stations, the continuous manning of an aid car, and increased firefighter staffing.