League of Women Voters of California
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Measure Q Paramedic Special Tax Sleepy Hollow Fire District 962 / 92.3% Yes votes ...... 80 / 7.7% No votes
See Also:
Index of all Measures |
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Results as of Nov 21 1:20pm, 100.0% of Precincts Reporting (4/4) 68.8% Voter Turnout (1085/1577) |
Information shown below: Impartial Analysis | Arguments | | ||||
Shall the resolution of the Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District continuing the special tax for paramedic services in an amount not to exceed thirty dollars ($30.00) per year for each living unit as a basic charge be confirmed and the appropriations limit be set at the proceeds of said tax plus the amounts charged for ambulance transport for the next four (4) years?
Dated: August 22, 2002
PATRICK K. FAULKNER
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Arguments For Measure Q |
The Ross Valley Paramedic Authority (RVPA) was founded in
1983 to provide paramedic services to communities of the Ross
Valley. Every four years since then, the voters have
overwhelmingly approved the special tax that funds the RVPA. To
continue the high standard of emergency response, you must
again approve this tax measure. In the last election, Sleepy Hollow
voters gave the highest support of any community.
Over the years, the number of 9 1 1 calls and the number of ambulance transports have increased. Transports now take longer because of traffic congestion. Four years ago, a second ambulance went into service in Corte Madera, greatly improving service in the south end of the Ross Valley. A year ago, the Marin County Fire Department agreed to respond to emergency calls in Fairfax and Sleepy Hollow with the paramedic ambulance stationed in Woodacre, when the RVPA ambulance stationed in Ross was unavailable. The Ross Valley Fire Department has begun a program to staff a first-response fire engine with a paramedic-firefighter. The RVPA is paying the training costs and salary differential for this improved emergency response. To provide improved service without increasing the parcel tax, the RVPA has been charging patient's insurance companies for Advanced Life Support (ALS) transport to hospitals. If this tax measure is approved, the $30.00 maximum paramedic parcel tax would continue. The maximum has been $30.00 for the past eleven years. The actual parcel tax is set each year to cover the RVPA's operating costs. The parcel tax covers the costs of standby service, 9 1 1 responses, ambulance(s), defibrillators, and paramedic training. The transport charge to the insurance companies covers the actual cost of responding and transporting patients to the hospital. The parcel tax provides about half of the funding. Please vote "YES" for the RVPA parcel tax. In these troubled times, this is a vital service. I have served on the RVPA board of directors since it began. If you have any questions, please call me at 454-2923.
s/ Frank Berto, President
(No arguments against Measure Q were submitted) |