FORKS — Forks Community Hospital officials are asking voters to approve a six-year emergency medical care and services property tax levy during the Feb. 10 special election.
The emergency medical services levy, which would allow the district to collect up to 24 cents per $1,000 assessed value beginning in 2016, would provide funds for emergency medical care or services in the district, including personnel and training costs, equipment, supplies, vehicles and structures.
Ballots were mailed Wednesday to registered voters in the district.
“We may have to replace one of our ambulances. Our oldest ambulance was purchased in 1993,” said James Chaney, chief financial officer for the hospital.
The district also needs a larger vehicle to carry the hydraulic rescue tools called Jaws of Life that are used to extricate people from car wrecks, he said.
If the levy is approved, funds from the levy would pay for emergency medical supplies and volunteer training.
Reimbursement
It also would partially reimburse volunteers to help offset their loss of pay when they are called away during work hours, Chaney said.
He added that the district has a shortage of volunteer emergency responders and that it would be difficult to find crews to dispatch all three of the district’s ambulances if needed.
District officials want to be able to offer better funding to allow more volunteers to take time off work, Chaney said.
Those who are on-call may be making $15 or $20 per hour at their regular place of employment and lose hours of pay if they have to leave work to respond to a medical emergency.
He said volunteers are paid $2.75 per hour while they are on-call and higher rates if they are dispatched.
“We’d like to make it more attractive for [potential volunteers] to make a commitment,” he said.
The levy requires a simple majority to pass.
Ballots must be postmarked for the all-mail special election by Feb. 10 or hand-delivered by 8 p.m. that day.
Drop box locations
The closest drop box for voters within the district is at Forks District Court, 502 E. Division St.
Other drop boxes are at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles, outside the courthouse and in the Auditor’s Office; and at the Sequim Village Shopping Center, 609 W. Washington St., near the city’s utility payment drop box in the J.C. Penney parking lot.
The measure is a replacement levy for one expiring Dec. 31.
In 2013, for tax year 2012, the emergency medical services levy collected $69,675.74 at 16 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, according to the 2013 Clallam County assessor’s annual report.
In 2014, for tax year 2013, it dropped to $55,268.03 at 11.6 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, the 2014 report said.
The tax rate is dependent on the budget submitted by the district, said Clallam County Assessor Pamela Rushton.
The present levy request, at 24 cents, could have collected up to $107,000 for the 2014 tax year had it been in place, Rushton said.
If it passes, the district would be allowed to submit a budget of up to the $107,000 limit.
Once the district submits a budget, that year’s tax rate is figured accordingly. The budget can be a lower amount than the allowed limit, Rushton said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
