Once again, Westside Community Healthcare District is disguising Measure A, as an additional tax, on the Nov. 5 ballot, presenting it as a public safety tax. However, the funds will not support fire or police services, therefore Measure A is not a public safety tax but in reality, it’s simply an unnecessary ambulance tax for a district that has a history of financial mismanagement and poor oversight. Some examples include purchasing $32,000 worth of appliances for ambulance quarters despite financial distress and opting to finance them over 20 years. More recently, the district took out a $500,000 loan, which will be paid back in five years at a sum of $625,000 and used part of it to give staff a 16% raise across the board while allowing them to keep 7+ weeks of vacation per year—further demonstrating a failure to prioritize community needs responsibly.

In August 2023, Westside Ambulance Chief of Operations Michael Courtney was arrested for DUI with a blood alcohol content of .22 after nearly colliding with another vehicle and swerving into oncoming traffic. Despite the incident, Courtney continued his management role for the district and was allowed to continue driving district vehicles for over three months before he finally resigned, once again raising concerns about the district's leadership and priorities.

If Measure A should pass, it will impose an additional $69 tax per taxable parcel. All district tax payers will essentially have to pay two separate ambulance taxes in addition to paying the same ambulance billing rate as someone from outside the district who has never had to pay any of these ambulance taxes. Nearby cities like Turlock, Hughson, Denair, and Los Banos do not impose such taxes, making it clear that Measure A places an excessive and unnecessary burden on local landowners. One example is land used solely for cattle grazing, which receives no direct benefit from ambulance services. Depending on the number of parcels someone owns, landowners could pay thousands more each year, with the amount increasing by 3% annually, compounding the burden over time.

Measure A is not a public safety measure — it is a way to sustain a poorly managed ambulance service at the expense of taxpayers. This November, please join me in voting no on Measure A and support real public safety initiatives instead.

Bob Vargas
Local Firefighter/Paramedic