Editor’s note: This is the second part of a six part series on the March 4 vote on a tax for emergency medical services.

DAYTON — The Dayton Rescue Squad formally began responding to emergency calls in 1973, but if a special election that would fund county emergency medical services doesn’t pass, Dayton leaders may have to consider disbanding after 52 years of saving lives.

“Worst case situation, we have to dissolve,” said Danny Hansen, director of the Dayton Rescue Squad. “We’d have to hope that Fort Dodge or another transport service could come here. It’s tough. When I started 35 years ago with Larry Hanson, Edna Will, Rose Chalgren, Carol DeGroot, and Jayson Heesch, it was just us. It was tough back then, but money didn’t seem to be the issue. But now, there’s just no money. There’s no money to keep this stuff going.”

Emergency medical services have historically not been funded in the State of Iowa, unlike police and fire departments that do receive line item budgets from local governments. Without funding to pay for medical supplies, training, ambulances, fuel, and more, EMS services throughout Webster County have had to borrow from fire departments or rely on donations.

However, in December the Webster County Board of Supervisors formally deemed EMS to be an essential service in the county. This now allows EMS to formally ask for funding through a special election. That election, to be held March 4, asks Webster County voters to approve a dedicated tax of 75-cents per $1,000 of taxable property value that would fund EMS services throughout the county.

“This is not a new problem,” said Webster County Emergency Management Coordinator Dylan Hagen. “We’ve been working on funding options for quite awhile. The county just named EMS as an essential service and it also happens that we’re at a really important point of no return right now. If this doesn’t pass, we don’t know if or who will respond to emergency calls.”

The Dayton Rescue Squad covers 120 square miles of the southeastern quadrant of Webster County, including Dayton, Lehigh, and Burnside. It also responds to parts of Brushy Creek State Recreation Area, Hidden Acres Christian Center, which typically has 500 to 800 students and staff on-site during the summer months, and are also at an average of nine rodeos each year.

“I’ve been on Dayton Rescue for 35 years and we used to average 70 calls per year,” said Hansen. “Now we average more than 140 calls per year. It’s doubled, but we do not get any tax dollars. We are completely reliant on donations, but they really do help. We also bill insurance companies, but they don’t pay very well, if at all.”

According to Hansen, the Rescue Squad does multiple fundraisers each year with the Dayton Community Club to help offset costs. Still, their ambulances are 20 and 24 years old and their manual cots are also heavy and outdated. Volunteer first responders also are currently not paid. When Hansen took over the squad more than a year ago, he ended payment to volunteers stating that they “can’t afford it.”

Webster County Special Election — March 4 Feb. 12: Absentee voting begins in Webster County Auditor’s Office Feb. 17: Last day to request an absentee ballot by mail March 3: Last day to absentee vote in person March 4: Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“A repurposed electric assist cart cot is $16,000,” said Hansen. “The Aprice of everything is going up. We have our equipment certified every year, but we’ve had potential volunteers come in and say they wanted to help, but they knew they couldn’t safely lift our manual cot.”

One year ago, Hansen had just four volunteers on the Dayton Rescue Squad. Thanks to a grassroots community effort to keep the Rescue Squad open, there are now 17 volunteer responders, six of which are EMTs, throughout the Dayton, Lehigh, and Burnside areas.

While the number of volunteers on the squad has ebbed and flowed over the past five decades, Hansen says the one thing that hasn’t trended downward is cost.

“The costs are astronomical,” said Hansen. “That just continues to rise and rise and rise and rise. We can’t control that, but we’re doing the best that we can. For example a used cot is $16,000, and nasal cannulas have risen 100 percent over the years. There’s regulations on gloves. You can’t have out-of-date gloves. I can’t control the costs, and they’re expensive.”

With the March 4 special election, residents are being asked to approve a dedicated tax of 75-cents per $1,000 of taxable property value that would fund EMS services throughout Webster County.

“We’ve projected in working with the Auditor’s Office that this dedicated tax will raise about $1.6 million annually,” said Luke Hugghins, a member of the EMS committee. “Of that, the largest chunk will go towards the transport agencies that will be providing services in those areas.”

As a transport agency, Dayton could potentially see $150,000 annually in funding that would help the Rescue Squad with supplies, equipment, training, and with required state certifications.

Funding would also be received by Fort Dodge Fire Department, Southwest Webster Emergency Medical Service, and small community departments like Badger, Otho, Harcourt, Barnum, and Vincent.

“We want to be fiscally responsible,” said Hansen. “We want to use the money wisely. If this does pass, I’m going to implement a three member board that we will report to. We need to be able to have a board to bounce things off of. We aren’t just going to get this money and just spend. We have a system. We have checks and balances, and we will be fiscally responsible.”

The special election for EMS as an essential service is scheduled for March 4. Members of the EMS committee are encouraging residents to vote by absentee ballot given that Iowa weather in early March is rarely dry. Absentee ballots for the special election are available beginning Feb. 12 in the Webster County Auditor’s Office at the Webster County Courthouse. The last day to request an absentee ballot is Feb. 17. The last day to vote in person at the Courthouse is March 3. Polls will be open on March 4 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“The older I get, I realize how important it is to have someone to call that can get me the medical care that I need,” said Becky Comp, a Dayton resident who has utilized the Dayton Rescue Squad three different times. “My family all works and they’re not in town to take me if there were an emergency. I think it’s so important that they be funded. They actually saved my husband’s life so that he could enjoy his grandkids for a few more years. I fully support this tax. I’m glad my tax dollars would go to fund the ambulance services as they help both the young and old.”