PARSONS, W. Va.–Officials in Tucker County say they are very worried about the future of emergency medical services (EMS) after voters rejected a levy request during the May primary and again in last week’s general election.
Tucker County Commissioner Lowell Moore said they currently operate two squads, but a lack of funding will cut that number to one.
“Because we don’t have a hospital and because the nearest hospital is roughly 25 to 30 miles away in either direction we will definitely lose lives because of lack of coverage,” Moore told MetroNews.
Tucker County commissioners passed an ordinance in 2016 that required a $50 annual fee for county residents and by 2021 it was determined that only about 60% of county residents had paid the fee voluntarily. Tucker County Commission President Mike Rosenau said because they had no way to go back and bill people that had not paid it was determined a levy was the best way to keep EMS at the current level- two squads. The commission struck down the ordinance on a 2 to 1 vote in May with Moore being the only vote to keep the ordinance in place.
“There was never anything to enforce the people that didn’t pay,” Rosenau said. “So, I didn’t think it was fair for half the county to pay and half county not pay, but all keep the same services.”
Tucker County welcomes hundreds of thousands of tourists to activities throughout the year and commissioners wanted to use the Amusement Tax that has been part of stat code for years to bridge the funding gap.
“That Amusement Tax is a bill that’s been in effect for 85 years, but it’s strictly for municipalities and I tried to get it amended to include the county commission,” Moore said. “It went through the Senate this past year, but it failed in the House.”
According to Moore, Tucker County has a population of about 6,800 and many residents are elderly on fixed incomes making a levy campaign difficult. Additionally, some Tucker County voters may have not known the EMS Fee Ordinance had been taken off the books in May, so they may have thought they were paying twice.
Rosenau believes state action is needed to safeguard the tourism industry but to also bring stability to Tucker County EMS. Due to the uncertainty of that second squad, officials said it is becoming difficult to hire and keep qualified EMS workers.
“Say that I’m on vacation, I’m in an accident and none shows up because they’re in Lead Mine, am I going to go back there for vacation? So the state needs to step up their game here,” Rosenau said.
Tucker County is one of many counties with financially ailing EMS services.
Del. Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, who has been looking at this issue on a multiple levels with other state lawmakers said the Wetzel County community of Hundred is struggling could run out of operating finances soon.
“The first thing we have to do is identify money in the state budget to help these struggling EMS services across the state to keep them a float until we can fund a permanent solution,” Statler said
Gov. Jim Justice announced plans last December that $10 million of CARES Act money would be used to recruit and train EMS workers. The Emergency Management Crisis Fund is working with the state’s community and technical college system to help fill the current gaps.