The future of emergency services in the Town of Rotterdam will be in the hands of residents.
A yet-to-be-scheduled vote will be held regarding the proposal to create an ambulance tax district. Voter approval would pave the way for continued service by Rotterdam EMS.
The town will have a mandatory referendum affording all property owners the right to vote on the proposal to create an ambulance district for the Town of Rotterdam, said Town Supervisor Steve Tommasone.
Prior to the vote, a public hearing will be held Wednesday, Sept. 23.
`People will come forth to speak out on it. It will be like a true Town Hall meeting to give their views to the town board,` said Schenectady County Legislator Joe Suhrada, R-Rotterdam, who is also running for a spot on the Rotterdam Town Board.
A final plan for the proposed taxing district was laid out at the Wednesday, Aug. 12, Rotterdam Town Board meeting. The plan would make REMS the primary EMS-ambulance provider for the town. The town is currently contracting with REMS for ambulance services and would establish a special assessment to provide funding for the service. The assessment would be based on property values throughout the town.
At the beginning of this year, there was some debate about whether to contract with the privately owned Mohawk Ambulance for emergency services or continue with the government-funded Rotterdam EMS. Staying with REMS involves the creation of a new taxing district, similar to ones used for the fire department and other public safety departments, while receiving services from Mohawk Ambulance Service would have no impact on taxpayers.
If the taxing district is voted down, according to Suhrada, there is a possibility of the town contracting with Kingsway Ambulance, `which would mean the ultimate demise of Rotterdam EMS.`
Under the proposal to be voted on in the coming weeks, if approved, REMS will provide services to all properties located within the current municipal boundaries, and would serve approximately 28,316 people.
REMS obtains revenue through a combination of fees and local tax revenue. According to the report presented Aug. 12, the total estimated income for REMS in 2010 will be approximately $425,536. The town will provide the remaining revenue for the service, which will be approximately $232,528. However, the cost is subject to negotiation and can be amended by the town as long as it is in accordance with the contract.
According to the 2009 Tax Roll Summary, the total assessed value of the property in the town is approximately $2.4 billion. Based on the annual cost of running REMS, a 10 cent per $1,000 rate would be established, meaning that the typical cost for a single family home of $165,000 would be $16.50 a year.
`No Rotterdam resident should be in a position where they can’t get an ambulance to come to their house,` said Suhrada. `I’m very hesitant to have any new tax, whether it’s 16 dollars or 160 dollars, but I don’t want us to lose ambulance coverage. There are plenty of other things that the county and schools spend money, and nobody complains about them, and they aren’t life saving.`
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