SPENCER, Iowa (KTIV) - Clay County, Iowa, residents will vote in November on whether to classify Emergency Medical Services as an essential service, a move that would allow the county to establish dedicated funding through a property tax levy.

The ballot measure aims to address ongoing challenges facing the county’s EMS operations, which currently rely heavily on volunteers and struggle with staffing shortages, equipment needs, coordination issues and service coverage gaps.

County officials say securing consistent funding is critical to ensuring timely and reliable emergency care for all residents across the rural county.

“The education is becoming really hard. Getting people to volunteer is becoming harder and harder,” said Beth Ter Horst, Clay County Emergency Medical Service Director

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