Voters in rural Davison and Hanson counties made it clear Tuesday they want Emergency Medical Services to continue.
95% of voters approved forming a rural ambulance district with only 5% opposed.
Amy Storm is an EMT with the Ethan Fire Department. She was hoping for a little more than 50% approval. “The people in the community came out and stepped out huge in voicing their opinion and saying this is definitely something we want and that we want to keep having around here,” Storm said.” So I was super proud of everybody stepping up to the plate to do that.”
She says this means when someone calls 911 outside Mitchell, they’ll not only get the local first-responders but also Advanced Life-Support ambulance service as well. “As someone put it literally, they sent me a message and said “you literally saved a lot of lives with that vote”, Storm said.
Earlier this year the city of Mitchell announced it would have to end EMS service outside city limits due to rising costs and lack of personnel. The city said it would need $700,000 to add the six personnel necessary to continue service outside Mitchell.
The plan would levy additional property tax for residents outside the city in rural portions of the counties to fund the service.
The next step is forming a board of directors which will determine the budget and set the levy.