GARDEN VALLEY, Idaho — The Garden Valley Fire District is asking voters to approve a $475,000 permanent levy in the Nov. 4 election to sustain emergency medical services and improve staffing in the growing community.
Fire Chief Paul Cleaveland said as the population increases, so does the demand for service — something the department has been working to improve.
“Over the last three years, we’ve been able to reduce our response times from 29 minutes down to 12,” Cleaveland said.
WATCH: Hear from Garden Valley Fire Chief Paul Cleaveland
The majority of the department’s calls are for EMS services, which the district took over about a decade ago when Crouch Ambulance was set to close.
“When Crouch ambulance was going to be dissolved, about 10 years ago, the Garden Valley fire department brought it underneath its wing, but in the meantime, there was no adjustments to the fire department budget to bring on that service,” Cleaveland said.
The proposed levy would primarily pay to maintain EMS services.
“The last two years we’ve been losing money trying to keep the ambulance on the road," said Cleaveland.
If passed, the levy would also fund the hiring of two full-time and two part-time EMS and fire staff members, while increasing pay for current on-call staff.
“This levy is going to determine if we can continue to provide this service at this level and keep our emergency response ambulance up here,” Cleaveland said.
The levy requires support from two-thirds of voters to pass — known as a super majority.
