STURGIS, S.D. – The Rural Sturgis Ambulance Group says they have petitions ready to circulate.
The group met Friday and received the petition along with instructions.
The petition follows a decision earlier this month by the group to begin the process of setting up an ambulance district. The district would serve the rural areas outside Sturgis city limits currently served by the Sturgis Ambulance Service. Because city residents help pay for its operation through their property taxes, the city of Sturgis has told the rural areas they need to come up with a way to help pay for service or lose it by the end of the year.
A current fundraising effort has raised nearly half of what is needed to keep the service going in the interim, but group spokesman Ross Lamphere says there needs to be a better long term plan.
That plan to begin the process of setting up a rural ambulance district. The district would be based on a special assessment on each home and business within the rural ambulance response area.
He says they will need petition carriers from all the rural areas of the proposed response area.
The petition will attempt to acquire the necessary number of signatures to set up an ambulance district vote.
The group will meet on Monday night at the Sturgis Fire Hall at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the petition and recruit petition carriers.
