MUKILTEO — Voters on Tuesday were turning down a bid by the city to start its own emergency medical service in a very close race, possibly leaving the city in a major bind as it gets ready to adopt a budget for 2004.
The city’s emergency medical services levy was trailing in early returns, but Mayor Don Doran was still optimistic.
"I’m a permanent optimist," Doran said, "so I will not say right now that the EMS levy is going down."
The levy’s failure would mean the city would have to figure out how to pay the $400,000 cost of emergency medical services while coping with a budget that’s projected to be $1 million short of last year’s. Last year, emergency reserves had to be used to balance the budget.
The levy would have eventually supported a six-member EMS staff, ensuring that at least one EMS medic was on duty 24 hours per day in Mukilteo.
The permanent levy would have cost a property owner 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $100 a year for the owner of a $250,000 home.
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
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