Milam County residents pass proposition to expand access to emergency medical services
MILAM COUNTY, Texas (KBTX) – Milam County residents voted on election day Tuesday to pass a proposition that will create the area’s first Emergency Services District.
The proposition passed with 62% of voters casting their ballot in support. County officials say the Emergency Services District will help save lives.
“We’ve gone at times where you may go an hour, hour and a half without an ambulance to transport people,” Milam County Judge Bill Whitmire said.
According to Whitmire, the rural county has three ambulances, one helicopter, and no hospitals servicing the area. Their resources are often stretched too thin to provide timely care.
“There are times where we are at what they call level zero, meaning, we have no ambulances at all,” Whitmire said.
Emergency services worker Kain Dodd, brought the issue to the ballot. He said in a statement that the emergency medical system in Milam County has been “pushed beyond its limits.”
Dodd banded together with other community members to establish an advisory committee that would create the Emergency Services District.
Whitmire said the district will handle all of the ambulance coverage for the county. Its funding will come from a set tax rate, which will be decided by the district’s future board of directors. The county says they’re hoping to have the Emergency Services District set up by 2025.
“January 1st of 2025, they have the funds and the contract in place for whatever that EMS service is,” he said.
According to Whitmire, the process of establishing the Emergency Services District will move forward once the vote has been canvassed and the results finalized. At the time of publishing, canvassing has not taken place yet, meaning the results are not official.
Read Dodd’s full statement to Milam County residents below
