There will be a ballot measure for the November election day in Guthrie County regarding emergency medical services (EMS).
County Supervisor for District Three Maggie Armstrong says that the ballot measure is the culmination of close to two years of work by various individuals. She tells Raccoon Valley Radio why it is being presented.
“It was asked for two years ago by both Stuart Rescue and Panora EMS when they came to the Board of Supervisors. They asked that the Board of Supervisors declare EMS as an essential service in Guthrie County, and then they asked that there be a special tax levy to only be used for EMS.”
Armstrong mentions that the proposal is looking for the establishment of a countywide EMS framework, which will be funded by the special tax levy. She mentions that at least 60% those that vote in the county would need to vote yes for the measure to pass, and shares what would happen if that threshold isn’t met.
“I like to answer this question in two parts. The first will really be up to the board of supervisors to determine how we procedurally move forward. Is this something that we are going to take up again? Or do we need to go back to the drawing board and really look at the reasons why this wouldn’t pass? And then the second part of that answer is, it’s gonna then be up to the entities themselves to determine what they do next.”
Armstrong explains that Panora EMS, Stuart Rescue and Adair Fire and Rescue are the service providers that the county would be working with, and that they would be able to use funding from the levy as a reimbursement on expenses for things like equipment, medicines, personnel, and other items related to providing EMS services.
There is a final informational meeting where more information will be provided on October 29th at the Guthrie County Courthouse at 7pm, along with a website that has a list of frequently asked questions as well. Raccoon Valley Radio will continue releasing information from the interview with Armstrong in a series of stories leading up to the November Election Day.