By RYAN LANCASTER
Staff Reporter
Spokane County Fire District 10 leaders are hoping an April 27 special election ballot will renew a 10-year emergency medical service (EMS) levy that expires at the end of this year.
With 60 percent voter approval Proposition 1 would reauthorize a regular property tax levy of 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for those who live in the district, which covers roughly100 square miles of the West Plains from Thorpe Road to the south and Seven Mile to the north.
“We're not asking for anything new with this that we're not already asking for today,” Fire Chief Nick Scharff said during a West Plains Chamber of Commerce breakfast Thursday, April 1. “If (this levy) goes away then we have some very, very important decisions in terms of what we can do for EMS.”
In 2009 Fire District 10 responded to more than 1,060 emergency calls, two thirds of which were EMS related, according to Scharff. “It's not just heart attacks and medical calls, EMS also responds to motor vehicle accidents,” he said. “Anything life threatening, we respond to those.”
The district's five stations house 18 vehicles, all equipped with EMS supplies and half of which are EMS certified. Most of the district's 55 volunteers are Emergency Medical Technician trained, which Scharff said costs about $130 each on an annual basis and may increase with new state training requirements.
With many people out of work in a down economy, Scharff said the timing of the levy's expiration is unfortunate, but as Fire District 10 relies on this money to fund a quarter of their budget, the renewal is necessary. “In order for us to be able to continue to deliver service in 2011 as we do today we must secure the same funding as current operations demand,” he said.
Ballot drop boxes are open now through 8 p.m. on Election Day, April 27, and are located at most Spokane County libraries including the Airway Heights branch, 1213 S. Lundstrom St.
Ryan Lancaster can be reached at [email protected].
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