JVRAD Fees Not Implemented on Town Tax Bill

Residents of the Town of Whitehall have repeatedly indicated their desire to financially support the local ambulance service, first through petitions, then through a ballot vote in November of 2022 to join the Jefferson Valley Rural Ambulance District (JVRAD). The astute Town of Whitehall resident might have noticed that the $29 fee that should have appeared on your most recent tax bill did not, in fact, appear at all. The board of the JVRAD is optimistic that this omission will be corrected in the upcoming tax adjustment that will be forthcoming from Jefferson County this spring.

Residents of the area within the Whitehall High School district exclusive of the Town of Whitehall were the original members of the JVRAD, later joined by residents of the Whitehall School District across the river in Madison County. In 2022, residents of the Town proper voted to join the district, and the Town Council resolved it should happen. The fee collection for the two former is in place, with the latter still underway.

Regardless of who is paying the district fee and who is not, the Jefferson Valley EMS & Rescue service continues to provide emergent care to area residents, guests, and interstate travelers. Individuals who use the ambulance services but do not live in a fee-paying area are charged an additional amount on their ambulance bill. It will be simpler when all residents in the service area of the ambulance are also all paying the $29 fee to the ambulance district. That was the original goal, and all signs point to ten years as the time it will take for ambulance supporters to reach that original goal. Vera Jensen would be pleased (and dismayed that it took ten years).

Fees collected by the JVRAD are held in an account at Jefferson County. The JVRAD (the district) has a contract with JVEMSR (the local ambulance service), and the monthly contract amount is used to pay rent, utilities, supplies, staff wages, training costs, vehicle maintenance, and lots of gasoline. A smaller amount of funds is held in a capital account with the county so that the JVRAD is in a position to provide matching funds for local health-related grants, special projects, and unexpected urgent care needs.

Other than writing a monthly check to the ambulance service, the JVRAD has done some creative things: used CARES Act funds to purchase two Zoll Monitors and a stretcher to be used by the ambulance service; funded the two-shot COVID vaccine clinic at the high school in conjunction with County Health and the Whitehall Pharmacy; funded an accelerated EMS course, and most recently accessed USFS Title III funds to purchase a UTV to be used for emergency services in off-road areas.

The JVRAD is a county entity, but it is small enough to pay specific attention to Whitehall area needs.

The current JVRAD board consists of Susan Pullman, President; Jenny Scott; Rico Patacini; Jeannie Ferriss; and Holly Harper, Secretary/Treasurer.