Letter: Fire district may ask voters for emergency medical service levy
I serve on the Board of Fire Commissioners for Benton County Fire District 1. Since the fire district was formed in 1946, we have relied on neighboring agencies to transport our citizens to area hospitals.
We are extremely grateful for this mutual aid. However, mutual aid often takes longer to get members of our community to a hospital. Benton County Fire District 1 has grown to the point where we need to do a better job for the people we serve.
We also want to return the service to our emergency service partners in the region. Having our own ambulance service would make additional response units available to support other agencies in times of need, just like they have supported us for the past 70 years.
Our fire district will discuss asking taxpayers to consider a levy for emergency medical service sometime in 2018. I want to be clear that I am not advocating for a levy one way or the other, but I do want citizens of our fire district to know the facts and how we have arrived at this point.
Earl W. “Bill” Houchin, Fire Commissioner, Kennewick
This story was originally published July 29, 2017 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Letter: Fire district may ask voters for emergency medical service levy."