Letter of support for ambulance levy fails to make case

To the Editor:

The recent letter to your paper supporting the increase of the mill levy for the county's ambulances fails to make the case for additional revenue.

In order to get some insight on the issue, I contacted two LVA members who advised me that the ambulance squad generates most of its revenue by transporting patients to and from different hospitals throughout the area. This results in an augmented income that typically nets their ambulance squad well in excess of $30,000 monthly.

I was also able to discover that both Troy and Eureka ambulance squads engage in similar functions. The EMTs I talked to further stated that this time several hundred thousand dollars have been saved to construct a new million-dollar hall next to their current building. They contend that their monthly income is more than would be needed to lease-puchase new ambulances as well as hiring full-time paramedics who could provide more reliable/rapid response and advanced patient care.

Another fact is the county already gives these ambulance squads funds to assist buying ambulances. I suggest that until we get an honest and full disclosure of the financial situation, we get an audit on what appears to be less than an up-front picture of the facts.

Lee Minicke