The Macochee Joint Ambulance District is asking its voters to make permanent an operating levy first approved five years ago.
Signs dot the village of West Liberty in support of renewal of a 3.5-renewal levy that does not raise taxes. (EXAMINER PHOTO | NATE SMITH)
The 3.5-mill renewal levy for the purpose of operating the Macohcee EMS station located at 113 E. Newell St. in West Liberty does not raise taxes and will cost a $100,000 property owner $122.50 annually.
The current five-year levy that was initially approved in March 2012 expires at the end of this year.
Passing this levy in the first place five years ago was the nexus for the Macochee EMS as it exists today.
The former West Liberty volunteer EMS bottomed out in 2011 after more than 60 of the 626 incoming calls for service had to be handled by a nearby full-time agency such as Bellefontaine Fire and EMS because of a lack of available volunteers.
Macochee EMS is on pace to handle more than 1,000 calls this year, and is receiving more calls for service now than ever before.
Data supplied by the Macochee Joint Ambulance District shows a steady increase in calls for service since 2007.
“This call volume can only be handled by paid crews on station 24 hours per day, as the demand on volunteers would be unsustainable,” according to Jeremy Keller, public information officer for Macochee EMS.
Read complete story in Monday’s Examiner.
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