First vote returns show nearly 70% approval
A ten-year replacement levy for the Emergency Medical Services program in the Lake Chelan valley is well on its way to approval. Tuesday election results showed 1,360 votes in favor of the levy and 597 against with an approval rate of 69.49 percent. The remaining outstanding ballots will be counted this Friday.
Lake Chelan Community Hospital EMS Director Ray Eickmeyer spoke with LakeChelanNow Wednesday morning and expressed his gratitude to the community for its strong support and trust.
“We are so very thankful to our community” — Ray Eickmeyer
The EMS team is comprised of 16 paramedics and 16 Emergency Medical Technicians with a mix of full time and per diem staff. Eickmeyer notes that the EMS program has one of the highest out-of-hospital cardiac save rates in the United States.
Passage of the renewal levy funds about half of the programs operational costs and also will allow for replacement of outdated equipment. The new levy amount would be taxed at a rate of 39-cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. This is up from the current rate of 31-cents. Once the election is certified, the new levy is scheduled to take effect in 2021.
