A coordinated effort to improve ambulance service for rural residents is on the ballot this November in five neighboring communities.
If voters approve, the five communities will pool their resources to hire paramedics so that people calling for an ambulance throughout the region will get a faster response and improved services.
The initiative will cost about $500,000 a year, to be shared among property taxpayers in the village of Walworth, town of Walworth, village of Sharon, town of Sharon and village of Darien.
It is a new approach to an old problem, as rural communities have been struggling for years with dwindling numbers of volunteer firefighters who are willing to answer the call when emergencies strike. In some areas, ambulance response times have doubled in the past 10 years.