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Western Lane Ambulance District seeks levy renewal

The levy helps fund personnel and equipment for Western Lane Fire District
Western Lane Fire District
The levy helps fund personnel and equipment for Western Lane Fire District

There is just one measure on the ballot in Lane County for the special election on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

Measure 20-322 would renew the existing 45-cents per $1,000 assessed value property tax. Michael Schick is Fire and EMS Chief for the Western Lane Ambulance District. He said the levy funds personnel and equipment for their EMT and ambulance services.

“We cover 564 square miles here in Western Lane County. So a large area,” Schick said. “We cover the City of Florence, as well as Mapleton, Swisshome, Deadwood upriver, and other upriver communities. It’s 25% of our budget, so it makes a level of service possible for what we provide now for our citizens.”

Western Lane Ambulance District

Schick said the local option levy was first approved in 2012 and renewed in 2016. He said since the original levy passed, there’s been more demand for ambulance services.

There is a small group who oppose measure 20-322. Schick said they’ve been sharing some information that’s not accurate.

Copyright 2021 KLCC.

Rachael McDonald is KLCC’s host for All Things Considered on weekday afternoons. She also is the editor of the KLCC Extra, the daily digital newspaper. Rachael has a BA in English from the University of Oregon. She started out in public radio as a newsroom volunteer at KLCC in 2000.