By Patrick Hurston
The ambulance levy that appeared on last Tuesday’s general election ballot proved to
be even more unpopular than officials expected.
“I was a little surprised by the gap,” said Hardy County Emergency Ambulance Authority
(HCEAA) Director Derek Alt. But, he added, “It’s understandable. People are strapped.”
The levy, which would have been linked to the assessed value of a property owner’s
real and personal property, was soundly rejected, with 55 percent of voters opposed,
and 35 percent in favor. To pass, it needed to reach a 60 percent voter threshold.
Despite its failure, residents are still likely to pay more for EMS services.
HCEAA held five townhall meetings during the month of October designed to help
residents better understand the ambulance fee, the proposed levy, and the shortfalls
county EMS services are facing. During those meetings Alt shared that the fee would
need to be raised to $270, up 125 percent over the current $120 fee, to equal the
amount that the levy would raise over a five-year period.
Alt says he knows that $270 is not a realistic number and that there is “no clear-cut plan
just yet” as he works to develop a proposal to the HCEAA board and the County
Commission that will “try to meet in the middle through cost-cutting and an increase in
the fee.”
Alt plans to make a recommendation to the HCEAA board at its Nov. 13 meeting which
is open to the public. He says the last thing on the table would be staff and/or service
reductions at this point.
Instead, he says he will look at restructuring HCEAA and reducing the cash
supplements to West Hardy Emergency Medical Services and the Wardensville
Volunteer Rescue Squad.
Ultimately, the path forward will rest with the Hardy County Commission.
“We’ll figure it out and restructure and keep the service going,” he said. “We have to
provide a service, and we’ll do that however we can.”
The Commission is likely to take up the issue after the first of the year.
