Othello ambulance levy on primary election ballot

OTHELLO — Voters in the Othello Community Hospital district will be asked to approve or reject a six-year levy proposal to fund ambulance services in the primary election Aug. 1.

Bob Carlson, chair of Othello Citizens for EMS, said the proposed levy would replace an existing one, and that the levy amount will not change.

“It continues the ambulance service in the Othello area for another six years,” Carlson said.

If it’s approved, the levy would generate an estimated $643,000 per year. Property owners would pay 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

If the levy is approved, a landowner with property assessed at $250,000 would pay $100 per year, and a property owner with land assessed at $350,000 would pay $140 per year.

Jacque Laird, elections administrator for the Adams County Auditor’s Office, said the proposal must receive a bare majority, 50% plus one vote, to pass.

Carlson said the levy helps pay for part of ambulance service operation.

“It does — there’s no doubt about that. It pays the labor, it pays for ambulances, it pays for ambulance barns, it pays for any expense that’s tied to the ambulance service,” he said.

The ambulance service is part of the hospital district, but the hospital is not required to provide it, Carlson said.

“(The ambulance service) is separate. It’s two different piles of money,” he said.

A private company or public agency could provide EMS, Carlson said, but there’s been little interest.

“(Othello hospital) is happy to do it, we just need the funds to do it,” Carlson said.

Othello City Council members passed a resolution in support of the levy on a unanimous vote at their regular meeting July 3.

Hospital officials initially offered the levy 12 years ago to help fill the gap between what the ambulance service generates and what it costs.

“Once we got (the levy) to pass, the hospital isn’t subsidizing it anymore,” Carlson said.

The ambulance service is partially supported through the public and private insurance of its patients and payments made by patients. But some reimbursement, Medicaid being an example, is below the cost of the service.

“They have a set rate, and it’s a lot less than what it costs to run the ambulance,” Carlson said. “Any ambulance service has probably got the same situation in a small community, where they’re not running all the time.”

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.