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EMS levy to net $240K yearly

3-mill, five-year measure up for vote in November

T-L Photo/SHELLEY HANSON PARAMEDIC Joele Bumgardner, left, and transport driver Rodney Jenkins hold a sign promoting the Martins Ferry EMS tax levy, which will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.

MARTINS FERRY — The city of Martins Ferry is gearing up to have voters approve a proposed tax levy for its emergency medical services department.

The EMS has been having financial problems for the past few years because of cuts to reimbursements from Medicare for ambulance services, said Mayor Robert Krajnyak.

The 3-mill, five-year levy is expected to generate about $240,000 each year for the EMS, Krajnyak said. It will appear on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.

“Those cuts that took place made it necessary to put this levy on. If it doesn’t pass I think what would have to happen is that more transfers would come out of the General Fund to the EMS line item to keep it going,” he said.

Krajnyak noted, however, that doing such transfers would be a short-term solution.

“Then our General Fund would have to run short. … We would have to come up with something else,” he said.

If the city cannot keep its EMS going, it would have to rely on services outside the city to provide transports and care for its residents.

“If you think about the response time … waiting for someone from the outside to come may add minutes on to a response call — that’s a matter of life or death,” he said.

With the EMS in the city, calls can be answered in 30 to 45 seconds, he added.

EMS Coordinator Dave Snyder Jr. said the levy will only be used for EMS-related operations including payroll, training, equipment and vehicles.

The EMS has four full-time employees and about 20 part-timers. Part-time EMTs make $10.27 per hour, while advanced EMTS, or those with more training, receive $11.15 per hour. Part-time paramedics make about $12.40 per hour.

“At the end of the five years we will see where we’re at. … After the last election, we’re going to have to do some work to try to get our citizens to bite on it.

It’s rough in this area right now; people are taxed to death as it is, but this needs to happen to keep this necessity for them,” Snyder said.

During the November 2018 election, the levy was defeated by 211 votes in a 981 to 770 decision.

Snyder said the EMS already has signage it can use ask for support for the levy. It also is working on plans to hold a possible town hall-style meeting in the future about the levy to help educate people about it.

Krajnyak said for a person who owns a home valued at $60,000, the levy would cost them another $36.75 per year in taxes. For a home valued at $45,000, it would cost $21 per year. And for a house valued at $90,000, $68.25 per year.

Parademic Joele Bumgardner on Thursday said she has worked for the EMS for four years. She averages six to 10 calls each shift. Not all shifts are 911 emergencies, she noted. Some are calls for service such as checking on a person’s welfare, wound care or helping someone’s mother off the floor who has fallen and cannot get up.

Bumgardner hopes people will vote in favor of the levy. She said the Martins Ferry EMS also provides mutual aid services to other neighboring communities such as Bridgeport, Colerain and Shadyside. The EMS also works events, such as Betty Zane Days, and youth sporting events such as football and basketball.

“We are very busy,” she said.

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