Mattawa set to vote on EMS levy

by Brad W. Gary<br>Herald Staff Writer
| September 13, 2005 9:00 PM

Fire District No. 8 seeking six-year EMS levy extension

MATTAWA — Officials with the fire district here are asking the voters for six more years.

Grant County Fire District No. 8 has placed an Emergency Medical Services levy on the ballot for the September primary, a continuation of the levy voters have approved twice before.

Fire District No. 8 is one of four municipal districts in Grant County to have an election Sept. 20. Voters in Electric City, Moses Lake and Coulee City will also be casting their ballots in the primary this month.

The levy is a continuation of previous levies already in effect, and Fire District No. 8 Chief Dave Hargroves said it will not amount to a new tax on district voters. The six-year levy, Hargroves said, amounts to an assessment of 25 cents per $1,000.

"They've supported it for the last 12 years," Hargroves said, "so we hope that they will continue to support the volunteers."

Hargroves said the levy represents approximately $65,000 to the fire district each year. That money is used for EMS training, equipment, vehicles and operational supplies. Hargroves said it also allows the district to keep rates down for district ambulance service.

"It helps keep our ambulance billing down," he said.

The 248-square-mile district utilizes a volunteer base of about 40 individuals. The district contracts with the Mattawa area within its district and also to places like Schawana and Beverly. The district also responds to accidents along Highway 243. District personnel respond to approximately 350 calls per year, approximately 70 percent of which are medical calls.

Hargroves said its EMS levy has allowed them to keep quality equipment for district personnel and enabled them to get patients to the highest level of care needed as soon as possible.

"If it doesn't pass," Hargroves said, "we'd have to rethink what we're going to do."

A simple 50 percent majority is needed to pass the levy. Ballots for voters within the fire district have already been sent out, and must be mailed to the Grant County Courthouse and postmarked by Sept. 20.