Importance of JVRAD Question on Ballot

While the Jefferson Valley Rural Ambulance District (JVRAD) question on the ballot is not a binding vote, it will help guide the Town of Whitehall in the direction its citizens want.

The Town of Whitehall is currently not included in the JVRAD. Funding for the Ambulance District annual budget and improvements will be from an initial proposed annual assessment of $29 and imposed on each residential lot or parcel within the district which contains a dwelling unit and on developed commercial properties.

As of mid-summer, the residents who do not live in the District are charged a $100 out-of-district fee if the ambulance is called their home. This fee is not always covered by insurance and varies by carrier and insurance plan.

“For people who have to call the ambulance multiple times a year, this really adds up,” said Town Councilor Linda Jung. “We need to think of those people, the collective majority, and make a decision based on that.”

In order to join the district, the town must ask the County to include them in the district. As this $29 annual fee was originally not approved by a resident vote, but has now increased to $100 per call, the Town is re-asking whether Whitehall should start the process to be included in the District once again.