BLOOMINGTON - Bloomington Township residents need to take a hit in their pocketbooks or lose the area's ambulance service, said the head of the township's fire department board.

Loren Keim, president of the board of trustees for Bloomington Township Fire Department, said a tax increase referendum on the Feb. 5 ballot will, if passed, give the township its first dedicated paid emergency medical technicians.

If it fails, a lack of funding would leave the area with unreliable coverage that would depend on how busy surrounding communities are when their ambulances are needed, he said.

"Quite frankly, it would be hit and miss as far as whether we would have an ambulance available to get somebody to a hospital," Keim said.

The township, which encompasses land south and west of the city of Bloomington, had relied along with other rural areas on ambulance service from Lifeline Mobile Medics, but that service ended Sept. 1. The township's fire department borrowed $125,000 to buy and equip an ambulance, but it is staffed by volunteers who may or not be available when a call comes, Keim said.

Under the proposal, homeowners would face a new tax of up to 0.3 cents per $100 equalized assessed valuation. The fire department currently levies a tax of 0.267 cents per $100 EAV for fire service, and trustees said they don't expect the new tax will be more than that rate.

A new tax of 0.3 cents per $100 EAV would add about $200 a year to the tax bill of a $200,000 house. The bill already is about $178 a year for the fire service.

But fire department board members are unsure how much would actually be levied, given the unknown cost of staffing and supporting the ambulance service, Keim said. Fire Chief Tom Willan said he wants to hire part-time EMTs to staff the firehouse 10 hours daily five days a week.

Keim stressed that the department is looking at levying only enough to provide the essential service needed for the district.

"We want only enough to make sure if someone calls 911, they will get an ambulance," he said.

At the maximum rate, the ambulance service would receive about $183,000 in new money. Without the tax increase, "we will not have an ambulance service out here in Bloomington Township," Willan said.

"Everybody who would come, whether that be Bloomington, Heyworth, Downs, are on the good will of their taxpayers and their mutual aid agreements," said department board secretary Paul Maier. "And they're not obligated to come."

Mozell Bliss said her husband, Harlan, had a heart attack just after he left for work Oct. 26, and a fast response by a township's ambulance crew and Bloomington city paramedics saved him from more serious harm. The volunteer firefighters were already in the area because of a carbon monoxide alarm, and they were able to quickly drive the man to OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, Bloomington, picking up a city paramedic along the way.

Bliss said that if the volunteer firefighters were at their own workplaces, "we would have been in real trouble."

And she has written a letter to the editor at the Pantagraph, since reprinted in fliers published by the township fire department, stating her support of the referendum to get paid staff at the department during such hours.

"I think it's too important not to pass this referendum," Bliss said.

Adam Swope, who lives south of Bloomington, said he hadn't heard of the referendum, but he probably would be willing to pay a little more in taxes to have paid ambulance staff available in case his children ever had a problem.

Renee Heath, who also lives south of Bloomington, said she knew about a referendum for increased funds for the Unit 5 school district, but not for the fire department. She said she would have to learn more about the proposal before deciding how to vote.

"I'd probably be in favor of it, but I would have to do more research," Heath said.

Bloomington Township's ambulance went into service three days before Lifeline stopped ambulance runs Sept. 1. Citing financial losses, Lifeline's administrators announced the end of the private countywide emergency transportation service early last year.

The fire department's two stations are inside southwestern Bloomington and south of Interstate 74, and the ambulance would be housed at the southern station.

The department is hosting an open house to show people the ambulance and equipment and answer questions between 10 a.m. and noon both Saturday and Jan. 19 at the station at 14880 Old Colonial Road.

---

Ambulance question

What: Bloomington Township ambulance referendum.

The question: "Shall the Bloomington Township Fire Protection District levy a special tax at a rate not to exceed 0.30 percent of the value of all taxable property within the district as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue for the purpose of providing ambulance service?"

What it means to you: Up to $200 in additional taxes annually for a $200,000 home to provide an ambulance service with part-time paid staff based within the township.

If it fails: The ambulance service won't have funding to continue transporting residents to hospitals, and township residents would have to rely on surrounding communities for emergency help. Fire department trustees and the fire chief say this would increase call times and provide less reliable service.

---

Election schedule

Today is the first of four Mondays The Pantagraph is highlighting several issues that will appear on Central Illinois ballots Feb. 5. Here's a look at today's and upcoming stories:

Today: Bloomington Township Fire Department tax; Heyworth ambulance service tax; and influences on voter turnout.

Jan. 14: Cornell/Flanagan merger; LaSalle and Livingston counties' referendums.

Jan. 21: DeWitt County landfill

Jan. 28: Unit 5 referendum overview; wrap-up of other Central Illinois counties