Back in November 2014 the Tom Tom reported that Emergency Medical Service was voted against by Antioch. The village is now pushing to get the EMS referendum passed in April.

For over 70 years ambulance service was covered by the Antioch Rescue Squad. However, as of May of 2013, ARS was unable to continue to serve Antioch and the First Fire District and Village Fire Department continued to run ambulance service in Antioch.

Since Antioch is one of the few towns in Lake County without the power to tax it’s citizens for EMS, the village is trying to get this referendum to pass and give them the power to funnel tax dollars to the EMS. The tax in question would be an increase of 0.25 percent. For a home that is estimated at $100,000, taxes would increase by approximately $83.34 per year and allowing the village to receive approximately $1,457,000 in tax dollars towards EMS.

According to the Village of Antioch website if the referendum is not passed then “a private system may need to be utilized that may take longer and cost more in the area that does not support the referendum.  Fire response may also be adversely impacted due to personnel cuts or other measures taken to spread limited resources more thinly.”

The site also says that the village may cut road repairs, funding to parks and other basic services such as park maintenance and a reduction in Thursday Night Concerts.

November elections saw only 47 percent of Antioch citizens in approval. The village is hoping for a larger approval rating on April 7, 2015.