Residents of Whitehall will be seeing an increase in fees from the Jefferson Valley Rural Ambulance District in the coming months.
TheJefferson Valley Rural Ambulance District has decided to increase fees for non-members of the Ambulance district.
The issue between Whitehall and the ambulance district began when some residents voiced concerns about unnecessary taxes. The district decided to move on without Whitehall.
"When we first formed the district, they figured that all parcels that had inhabited dwellings on them were going to be charged $29 and that was including the town of Whitehall but with Whitehall excluded we did not have nearly as much revenue," Pullman said.
Right now, if you live in Whitehall and you call for help, you'll get charged $29 if you're transported by the ambulance district. You won't get charged if the ambulance doesn't transport you.
This is changing.
For those not a member of their district, the Jefferson Valley Rural Ambulance District will be increasing the fees from $29 to $100
Sue Pullman, the board chair of the Jefferson Valley Rural Ambulance District, says that you'll pay $100 anytime the Jefferson Valley Rural Ambulance district responds to your home, whether you are transported or not.
"We could just tell that we are not making, we’re not making it with the $29 out of district fee so we have a choice," Pullman said.
That choice will possibly be decided at the polls in November.
Mayor Mary Hensleigh said it was a mistake to not join the district and that the council will look over the item at their next meeting in June.
"Whitehall is a community with elderly people and there are numerous calls for the EMS on a daily basis and I think it would benefit everyone who lives here," Hensleigh said.
The Jefferson Valley Rural Ambulance was called out 500 times and only half of those were transports. The other half were non-transports.
Whitehall residents will see this increase in ambulance services starting July 1.
