Do you like the service you have been receiving from the Southwestern Michigan Community Ambulance Service?

If so, are you willing to pay a little more to ensure that it continues to serve the greater Niles area for years to come?

That is a question Niles area residents will likely have to answer in the near future.

In a discussion at the Niles City Council meeting Monday, city officials said the municipality owned ambulance service would need more money through a special assessment if it hopes to survive past the next two to three years.

Each occupied dwelling in the areas in which SMCAS serves currently pays a $20 special assessment each year. The money is used to help fund SMCAS’ operation.

Many have said $20 is a small price to pay for what is widely considered to be one of the best ambulance services in the area.

In fact, some believe we are not paying enough.

On Monday, Niles City Councilman Scott Clark proposed raising the assessment to $30 a year to combat a recent SMCAS revenue shortfall caused largely by decreasing Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.

We tend to agree with Clark that an increase in the assessment is needed. It is hard to believe that the assessment has not changed in more than 20 years, despite the increase in the cost of capital equipment, such as ambulances, and the increase in the number of calls SMCAS responds to each year.

The only way an increase can happen is if voters agree to approve one, likely within the next couple of years.

When that time comes, we hope everyone will vote “yes.”

 

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of Publisher Michael Caldwell and editors Craig Haupert, Ambrosia Neldon, Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.