NEW BERLIN – There will be a permissive referendum on Jan 24. in the Columbus and New Berlin town halls in order to vote on the establishment of a new ambulance tax district in each of the towns.

Property owners are encouraged to vote between the hours of noon and 9 p.m. at their respective town halls.

The debate over the tax district has raged for months with confusion and misinformation prevalent on both sides of the issues. Primarily, confusion has sprung from the simultaneous formation of the Unadilla Valley Ambulance Corps (UVAC) a not-for-profit ambulance service agency which is run by a Board of Ambulance Commissioners.

New Berlin Town Supervisor Ross Iannello released a statement citing town law articles 12 and 12-A, that “a town may establish ambulance districts to provide emergency medical service, general ambulance service or a combination of such services within the boundaries of the district.”

The law also gives the board authorization to contract with one or more qualified ambulance services for “the operation, maintenance, and repair of emergency medical service or ambulance vehicles, and for the furnishing of pre-hospital emergency treatment.”

Village of New Berlin attorney David Merzig has raised numerous concerns about the formation of this district and the connection to the UVAC.