NEW BERLIN – There will be a permissive referendum on Jan 24. in the Columbus and New Berlin town halls in order to vote on the establishment of a new ambulance tax district in each of the towns.
Property owners are encouraged to vote between the hours of noon and 9 p.m. at their respective town halls.
The debate over the tax district has raged for months with confusion and misinformation prevalent on both sides of the issues. Primarily, confusion has sprung from the simultaneous formation of the Unadilla Valley Ambulance Corps (UVAC) a not-for-profit ambulance service agency which is run by a Board of Ambulance Commissioners.
New Berlin Town Supervisor Ross Iannello released a statement citing town law articles 12 and 12-A, that “a town may establish ambulance districts to provide emergency medical service, general ambulance service or a combination of such services within the boundaries of the district.”
The law also gives the board authorization to contract with one or more qualified ambulance services for “the operation, maintenance, and repair of emergency medical service or ambulance vehicles, and for the furnishing of pre-hospital emergency treatment.”
Village of New Berlin attorney David Merzig has raised numerous concerns about the formation of this district and the connection to the UVAC.
“If you collect the taxes, you have to provide the service,” he said. “But it’s entirely up to them who they contract with.”
He stated that although the creation of the district was not illegal, breaking the current contract with the village would certainly be called into question. Both towns currently contract with the village ambulance service and are obligated to follow through until the contracts completion in 2013, said Merzig.
Members of the village board have expressed concerns regarding the formation of these ambulance districts. A notice provided to taxpayers with the delivery of their water bill warned members of the community that, although the ambulance district is only a separate line item taxing authority, it would also give the town the authority to contract with a different ambulance service.
According to Mayor Terry Potter, the notice was not from the village but from “concerned citizens” but was approved by the village board. The notice warned that certain members of the community “could potentially see their current local ambulance service jeopardized.”
“We don’t want it to come across as an attack, but members of the community are concerned,” said Potter. “I think the current ambulance service does a great job. They’ve stepped forward and I don’t believe the village wants to see them go.”
Iannello dismissed these claims stating that the vote for the ambulance district will be entirely separate from any discussion about the ambulance service with which they contract. He also stated that the tax dollars collected had not been established and would be determined each year by the town board “just like any other tax line.”
“You are voting solely on the creation of an ambulance district to promote accountability and equality in the providing of emergency medical services,” he said.
Iannello went on to explain that the position of the towns and village have changed drastically over the last three years since the loss of Superior and creation of the village service. He stated that the plan the entire time had been to create a not-for-profit service that would be run by a board of directors made up of representatives, outside of the government, from both municipalities and the district.
He stated that although many individuals had decided against it over the past few months, he still believed it would be beneficial to the community. However, he stressed the distinction between that plan and the creation of the districts.
“It’s now a benign point to what they’re arguing about,” said Iannello. “If they vote yes, it will be a fairer taxing service, if ‘no’ then we’ll have the same process we have now.”