Star Valley Health EMS building in Afton. SVI PHOTO/DUKE DANCE

Residents wanting to voice their opinion on a proposed tax district that would help fund Emergency Medical Services in Star Valley have until May 18 to submit public comments. Lincoln County Commissioners are expected to vote on the proposal during the May 19 commission meeting in Kemmerer. Comments in favor or opposed to the district can be emailed to Stephen Allen at stephen.allen@lincolncountywy.gov or mailed to 925 Sage Avenue, Kemmerer, WY 83101. Commissioners will only be able to consider comments received before May 19.

Members of the public will be allowed to make comments during the commission meeting, either in Afton or Kemmerer, before the commissioners vote on the district

The district was proposed on February 3 by administrative officials from Star Valley Health who operate EMS valley-wide. At that time, commissioners voted in favor of simply allowing the process of creating a district to move forward, stating that they themselves had no interest in adding a mill levy, but would leave it up to voters. The process included a public hearing which took place on March 17, followed by a 60 day comment period.

If the district is approved, a board would be appointed by commissioners to oversee the district. “The board would always be appointed by the commission. [The board] would then have to take the mill levy to the voters,” explained Lincoln County Chief of Staff Stephen Allen. “So voters would still get a chance to vote on that mill levy.”

“Even if they did appoint this board and it goes to a vote, the voters may say no to a mill levy,” continued Allen. “If that happens, we could have a board that is not funded for two years, because they can’t come back to the voters until 2028.”

The board can ask for between 2 and 4 mills to be placed on the ballot. The district boundaries of what would be known as the North Lincoln County Emergency Medical Services District, if approved, follows the same boundaries as the current North Lincoln Hospital District, which includes all of Star Valley.

“Star Valley Health has operated EMS because it was the right thing to do,” said Dan Ordyna, CEO of Star Valley Health. “For several years EMS services were significantly struggling in the valley with staffing and response times. When EMS needed a partner five years ago, we stepped up. Although EMS is in a much more stable position today, the partnership with the towns and county has become unsustainable due to the immense pressures on our rural healthcare system and town and county budgets. Thankfully this is an opportunity to secure the future of our EMS services by creating an independent EMS district.”

Currently in Wyoming, EMS is not considered an essential service, unlike police and fire departments, meaning that EMS does not receive state or county funding.