Community invited to EMS levy renewal Q&A sessions
(SKAGIT COUNTY)- The Skagit County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) department invites the community to learn more about the EMS levy renewal on the April 23, 2024, special election ballot. The purpose of the ballot measure is to renew the levy at a sufficient rate to continue funding 24-hour EMS response, according to a news release from the county.
A Q&A session will be held on Thursday, April 11, at 6 p.m. and hosted virtually at https://meet.goto.com/SkagitCountyEMS/emslevy
Another Q&A session will take place on Saturday, April 13, at 10 a.m. at the EMS offices located at 2911 E. College Way, Mount Vernon.
Skagit County EMS Director Josh Pelonio will deliver a short presentation and answer any questions from the community on the EMS levy renewal.
The EMS levy must be renewed by voters every six years, and the current levy is set to expire at the end of 2024. The EMS levy was last renewed by voters in 2018 at $0.44 per $1,000 assessed property value. Since then, the rate has dropped to $0.30. The county is asking voters to renew the levy at a rate of $0.47 to manage higher call volumes and costs to provide services.
If approved by voters, the $0.17 levy rate increase would fund:
- Paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs)
- Medical education and training
- Fuel
- Equipment
- Ambulance maintenance and replacement
- Medical supplies
Skagit County EMS is a countywide EMS system providing 24/7 live-saving medical response and ambulance transport to area hospitals. Call volumes have increased by 25 percent in just four years, which is primarily due to the area’s growth and aging population.
Last year, Skagit County provider agencies, including the cities of Sedro-Woolley, Mount Vernon, Burlington, and Anacortes, and Aero Skagit, responded to more than 18,000 calls and provided more than 9,200 ambulance transports to area hospitals. More calls mean higher costs for everything from medical supplies to emergency personnel to ambulance replacements. For example, the cost to replace aging ambulances is an average of $400,000 each.
The $0.17 levy rate increase would cost the owner of a $555,000 home (median assessed value) an additional $94.35 per year or $7.87 per month for 24-hour EMS response.
Learn more about the EMS levy at www.skagitcounty.net/EMSlevy or by contacting Skagit County EMS at 360-416-1830 or joshp@co.skagit.wa.us.