Hospital District Board Firm on 50 Cent Levy

Facing from left – Commissioners Michael Edwards, Bill Williams, Monica Harrington and Mark Schwinge. Commissioner Barbara Sharp attended by phone – Contributed photo

Loren Johnson, MD, Chair of the Vote Yes for San Juan EMS 2016 Campaign Committee shares this…

On June 30th the San Juan County Public Hospital District board adopted a 2017 EMS Budget that affirmed that San Juan EMS must have 50 cents per $1000 in assessed property values to maintain core operations.

Critics have advised voters to disapprove the 50 cent levy on the theory that the board will be forced to sponsor a 35 cent levy in November. Now we know that this “last chance scenario” is false, and more importantly it’s a formula for disaster.

Waiting until November won’t change the facts, and it won’t change the levy. All it will do is further destabilize the agency and make it more difficult to retain its critical staff.

Our elected leaders have done their duty to evaluate community needs, improve operational efficiencies and verify the level of funding required to maintain EMS as an essential public service. They understand the risk in sponsoring a ballot measure that requires 60% of the vote and they have placed their trust in the electorate to make the right decision.
Save EMS, vote Yes for Proposition 1.

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