By Patric Hedlund

On Tuesday, July 29 in its 9 a.m. session, the Kern County Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing on a measure to be placed on the November 4 ballot for voters who live in Pine Mountain. [It is item number 32, the first event after the board’s consent agenda.]

If passed by 2/3 of those voting, the measure will place a $70 tax on all parcels within County Service Area 40 (CSA-40) to fund enhanced emergency medical services in Pine Mountain.

According to an interview with Engineering and Survey Services Director Chuck Lackey on July 18, voters will be asked if they wish to approve the assessment for firefighter-paramedic services only, or not. Lackey said, “We tried to be as specific as possible,” to follow the results of the straw poll of CSA-40 registered voters in June asking what they wished to have on such a ballot.

Firefighter-paramedic services had the largest number of votes. Lackey said the straw poll in June will not be charged to the CSA-40 fund, but about $3,000 will be deducted for the November ballot expenses.

He also said that the ballot question could be altered by the supervisors at their meeting following the hearing.

The item has been considered controversial because the Kern County Fire Department, the 10th largest in the state, is the only one in the top 15 departments in California which has no firefighter-paramedic program. The measure has been hotly contested by Hall Ambulance Service, which has an exclusive contract to provide paramedic service to 87 percent of Kern County. The company is owned by Harvey Hall, who is the mayor of Bakersfield.

This is part of the July 25, 2008 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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