Voters approve EMS levy

The Daily Inter Lake

Whitefish voters said yes to a new tax that will raise enough money annually to provide around-the-clock fire and ambulance service to the city.

In a mail-in ballot election that ended Tuesday, 1,010 voters approved the measure while 630 were opposed.

The levy will add 24 mills to the city's current levy of 111 mills, raising $464,759 the first year. It will be an ongoing assessment, costing homeowners about $100 to $150 a year or more depending on the assessed value of their home.

The new tax revenue will allow the city to hire six additional firefighter/paramedics and expand the department to have three rotating shifts of four emergency-service workers on each shift, with two "floaters" to cover leave time.

Currently the department is staffed with the fire chief, fire marshal and eight firefighter/paramedics, allowing daily shift work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a call-out system during night hours.

The number of night calls has doubled in the last seven high-growth years in Whitefish, from 432 night calls in 2001 to a projected 860 night calls this year.

The new levy is the first increase in tax-supported funding for fire and ambulance in 40 years.