Jones County levy would help fund emergency medical services

JONES COUNTY — Jones County residents will vote next month on whether to establish a levy that would create a stable revenue stream for emergency medical services, which are largely volunteer operated.

Voters are being asked to approve a levy of 35 cents per $1,000, which equates to a tax increase of $35 a year for the owner of a house whose taxable assessed value is $100,000. The levy would raise around $430,000 a year for services across the county. The measure requires a supermajority vote of 60 percent to pass. It will be on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Under a law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds last year — Senate File 615 — counties can designated their emergency medical services as “essential,” which allows them to levy taxpayers to fund programs.

When someone calls 9-1-1, they expect an ambulance to arrive in a timely fashion, said Sheila Frink, director of the Anamosa Area Ambulance Service. An increased response time can increase mortality rates. The levy would help ensure this service remains responsive.

There are nine emergency medical services in Jones County — all but two of which are volunteer-operated. One of these volunteers is Kim Krutzfeld, director of Oxford Junction’s Emergency Medical Service.

Anamosa Area Ambulance Service — which is a paid service — runs an annual deficit of about $400,000 a year, Frink said. The service is supported by Jones Regional Medical Center in Anamosa.

Adding to this is the cost of medical supplies, which has increased significantly in recent years, Frink said. The cost to buy an ambulance increased from $173,000 to $230,000. A box of latex gloves has gone from $5 to $24.

Krutzfeld, who works at Edward Jones, a financial services company in Cedar Rapids, rotates with a few other volunteers in Oxford Junction to be on call from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and weekends. Another emergency medical technician volunteers to be on call during the day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Volunteers have to pay their own way to become medical technicians or paramedics, including continuing education courses every two years, Frink said. A levy creating a continuous revenue stream can keep more ambulances on the road and help train new volunteers.

While Oxford Junction EMS only gets about 100 calls for service a year, it can be a difference between life and death for their patients. Without these services, response time could increase for people in need of immediate medical attention, Frink said.

Oxford Junction’s Emergency Medical Service bills insurance, but reimbursement for a $750 call, for example, may be only $250, Krutzfeld said. They depend heavily on donations to keep the service operational.

The other paid service — Monticello Ambulance Service — covers a 160-square-mile area of Jones, Linn, and Delaware counties, and is supported by City of Monticello tax dollars. Six full-time staff and 16 volunteers respond to around 700 calls for service a year.

Monticello Ambulance Service’s annual operating budget is about $650,000, which includes wages, vehicle supplies and maintenance and medical equipment. They generate less than half of that — about $300,000 a year — in billing, said Britt Smith, Monticello chief of police and ambulance director.

The remaining portion is paid for by City of Monticello taxpayers, Smith said.

While the levy won’t solve the problem of emergency medical services losing revenue, it will alleviate it, Britt said.

“If this doesn’t go through, it won’t be long before services like Oxford Junction don’t have the man power and resources to continue,” Smith said.

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