The Jordan Valley EMS Authority is hoping that approval of a May 5 millage will allow it to gain the funding it needs to fully staff a second 24-hour, seven-day-a-week ambulance for the six townships it serves.
The ballot proposal asks for a 0.75 mill increase ($0.75 per each $1,000 of taxable value) for households across East Jordan, South Arm, Jordan, Echo, Banks and portions of Wilson and Eveline townships for three years. The estimated revenue that the Jordan Valley EMS Authority (JVEMSA) would collect in the first year, if the millage is approved, is around $353,000.
That funding would allow the second ambulance to respond to calls currently managed through mutual aid resources by neighboring agencies.
JVEMSA Director Joel Yonkman said the millage increase is critical to addressing the growing service gap. The added tax revenue and increased service income would help offset a projected $477,000 budget deficit in 2027 if passed. Yonkman joined the JVEMSA in August 2025.
“When I first started we knew pretty quickly that we needed to stop the budget (deficit),” Yonkman said. He added that there are only three main strategies that can increase EMS revenue: expand the authority’s service area, increase call volume and increase the millage.
Yonkman said the first two strategies have been used, with call volume increasing from various health care facilities in the area.
“We spend a lot of time transporting patients up here to other parts of Northern Michigan,” Yonkman said. “We are focused on trying to get more transfers from hospitals.”
Despite these efforts, Yonkman said it was “clear” to JVEMSA leadership that the authority was underfunded. They worked with the authority’s board to develop a proposed millage rate that would support operational costs for a second ambulance and still be palatable to the community.
“There is a lot of information that we are trying to clear up,” Yonkman said. “We realize the sensitivity of higher taxes, but we think it is important to staff the second ambulance full-time.”
Some of the misinformation that Yonkman referred to is related to the concept of taxable value. The area that the JVEMSA covers does not include property on Lake Michigan or some of the other higher value inland lakes in Northern Michigan. Property taxes don’t raise as much money in the East Jordan area compared to other nearby communities as a result.
Without the proposed 0.75 millage increase, Yonkman warned increases in delayed response times are inevitable. The EMS Authority’s single 24/7 ambulance currently averages 2.5 to 3 hours per call, from dispatch to hospital return, limiting its availability for overlapping emergencies. The authority went on more than 1,300 calls in 2025.
A typical rural EMS agency covers about 150 square miles and serves roughly 5,000 residents. In contrast, JVEMSA covers approximately 220 square miles and serves around 10,000 residents. It employs 14 full-time staffers and around 20 people in total, Yonkman said.
JVEMSA will still require call revenue to help support its operations even if the millage is passed, but a “yes” vote will significantly relieve the level of financial pressure, Yonkman added. Inflation is also a factor in all authority expenses, with ambulances costing around $350,000, not including annual maintenance and heart monitors costing up to $70,000.
“This millage is important,” Yonkman said. “It would lock us into better financial position.”
Learn more about at jvemsa.org.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Proposed millage increase would let Jordan Valley EMS staff second rig
Reporting by M. Alan Scott, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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