EMS Levy Fails at Ballot Box
Voters in the Council Ambulance District rejected an EMS levy on May 19, giving just less than 62% support. The levy required a two-thirds majority to pass.
The levy received 556 votes cast for it and 341 votes cast against it. With the same number of votes cast (897), the levy needed about an additional 42 votes to reach the two-thirds threshold.
Council Valley EMS Director Cody Murphy stated that he does plan on putting the levy to voters again this fall. If the amount of the proposed permanent Special Tax Levy remains unchanged, it would increase the district budget by about $108,000 per year and cost property owners $19.73 per $100,000 of assessed value.
In the meantime, what’s going to happen to our local EMS service? Mostly nothing in the short-term future. Cody Murphy explained that they should be good financially through the end of their current fiscal year, September 30. However, the March and April timeframe of next year look to be when things might start getting a little tougher if the levy is not passed. Murphy does not want to do staff reductions but the lack of levy funds means that they could eventually revert to an all volunteer service.
Payroll expenses have increased significantly this year as well. Murphy stated that the district has spent over $130,000 in payroll since the beginning of their fiscal year that started October 1, 2025. The district budgeted $175,000 for payroll but is on track to spend about $195,000 if this trend continues. This would be about an 11% overspend if it occurs.
The levy would have paid for moving the district moving to an Advanced Life Support (ALS) service, while it is now a Basic Life Support (BLS) service. Currently, as a BLS service the EMTs are limited to offering basic medications like Tylenol and Ibuprofen according to Murphy. Local BLS EMTs can also give an EKG, but cannot interpret the results. This either waits until the patient reaches the ER or a picture of the results is sent ahead to an ER physician who then interprets it and gives care guidance.
ALS EMTs in Idaho are able to administer a wider range of drugs, including narcotics and can manage patient airways with more options such as intubating.
