Blaine County voters overwhelmingly supported a proposed increase to the Blaine County Ambulance District's existing property tax levy rate on Tuesday.
With all of the votes in and tallied, those voting "yes" on the levy rate request held the day with 1,956 votes, or 81 percent of those who showed up at the polls. Those voting "no" totaled just 472 votes, or 19 percent of those who showed up at the polls.
The levy rate override required a two-thirds majority—or 66.6 percent approval—to pass.
The election asked county voters to consider whether to approve an increase to the county ambulance district's existing property tax levy rate. In March, the three-member Blaine County Commission voted unanimously to set the election after hearing local emergency services officials warn of a continuing funding shortfall they say threatens the long-term viability of local ambulance services.
Idaho law allows taxing districts to increase their budgets by only 3 percent per year, which the ambulance district has done, but that has not allowed it to keep pace with rising costs due to inflation. Larger increases to property taxes must be approved as part of a levy-rate override.
To provide the voting public with information on the important issue prior to this week's vote, the County Commission helped form SAFER, which stands for Support Adequate Funding for Emergency Response.
Prior to yesterday's vote, Hulen Meadows resident Len Harlig warned of the pitfalls should county voters vote no on the levy rate increase. Harlig led the public informational campaign in the run-up to the election.
"I think the consequences are dire," he said.
The override will raise an additional $350,000 per year for the ambulance district and increase local property taxes by $3 per $100,000 of assessed value. The increase in the district's budget from property-tax revenues will take effect next fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1.
Approval will provide the district with funds for ongoing operations costs and replacement of ambulances.
Property owners in the county will see a range of tax increases based on their individual property assessments under the levy increase. The average home value in 2007 for Ketchum was just over $900,000, while the average for Carey was about $160,000. Using these figures as a basis, property taxes in Carey will increase an average of about $5 per year under the tax hike. In Ketchum, the average homeowner will see an increase of about $27.
Without the funding increase, the county could have gone from having two full-time ambulances staged in Ketchum and Hailey to having just one full-time ambulance staged somewhere mid valley, Blaine County Emergency Medical Services Director Dr. Keith Sivertson warned last March in a presentation to county commissioners.
That could have meant longer response times for many county residents, especially those living in places like Bellevue as well as in outlying areas like Carey, Sivertson warned. He said the ambulance district was at the point at which "very hard" decisions would have to be made if funding isn't increased to keep pace with inflation.
In the ambulance district's 22-year history, the county had never asked voters to approve a levy override for it prior to Tuesday's vote, Blaine County Administrator Mike McNees said.
There was little activity at the polls in Ketchum City Hall Tuesday afternoon, leaving volunteers, from left to right, Vicki Graves, Melanie Hodge, Bev Stapleton and Lynn Flickinger with plenty of time to tend to their hobbies. Photo by Willy Cook
