Sun Valley Goverment & Public Services

City planners in all five cities and the county work with appointed planning commissions on the development and implementation of planning and zoning ordinances.

Effective and responsive law enforcement is provided by the State of Idaho, Blaine County Sheriff, and the city police departments.

Fire protection in the north county is provided by five fire stations, ten full-time permanent firefighters (who are also Emergency Medical Technicians or Paramedics), low full-time fire chiefs and a large group of paid on-call volunteers. An aerial platform ladder truck, pumpers, and three ambulances outfitted with the latest in medical equipment have led to a Fire Insurance Rate Classification of 3 in Ketchum and Sun Valley. The south county is served by five fire stations, three ambulances and its own network of volunteer firefighters and equipment, including an aerial platform ladder truck, pumpers, and one-ton quick response van. The entire county is linked by 911 emergency dispatch centers, which are staffed by trained Emergency Medical Dispatchers. Emergency Ambulance Service covers all of Blaine County and is a fire department based system that provides 24-hour a day coverage. Personnel are trained as Emergency Medical Technicians Advanced and Paramedics. The fire departments have vehicle extrication, water rescue, backcountry and high angle rescue capabilities. Ambulances are in contact with the medical director at the hospital.

GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES
Ketchum	Sun Valley	Bellevue	Hailey
2003/04	$7,868,458	$3,010,331	$746,271	$4,616,572
2004/05	$7,915,890	$8,066,537	$954,293	$4,894,852
2005/06 (est.)	$9,080,784	$7,497,180	$1,352,096	$5,040,928

BUSINESS SERVICES

The Wood River Valley, home to many sophisticated businesses, meets the needs of its community with a wide variety of services.

Federal Express offers daily pickup six days a week. U.S. Postal Service Overnight Express is available 7 days a week. United Parcel Service, including 2nd Day Air, operates Monday through Friday. Saturday deliveries only for Next Day Air. Web site designers, Internet providers, e-mail services and custom computer software is available from numerous local firms. Local companies offer a full range of secretarial services including word processing, call forwarding, fax services, dictation, convention support, notary services, residential property management, and mail pickup and forwarding. An extensive number of attorneys practice litigation, business and real estate law in the area. Complete accounting services are available in the valley at a selection of accredited firms. Local printing and design services offer computerized typesetting, local printing, instant printing, blueprinting, and local and national advertising capabilities. Office supply outlets provide furniture, computer supplies, typewriter and equipment purchase and rentals, and copying facilities in addition to a full line of are and office supplies. FAX, Telex, and Western Union outlets and Internet cafés are available locally. Qwest provides the Sun Valley customer with state-of -the-art digital internet service and telephone service including advanced custom calling services such as Caller ID, Priority Call, Call Waiting and other wireless options. Sun Valley is linked to the electronic superhighway with a statewide long distance fiber optic cable that is capable of handling high-speed data transmissions in addition to long distance telephone calls. Extensive cellular service is provided in the area by 6 carriers: Verizon, Idaho Mobile Phone, U S Cellular, Nextel, Sprint, and Edge Wireless. Cable services in the valley are provided by Cox Communications offering a wide selection of television bands from around the state as well as locally operated Channel 13. Internet services can be provided in the valley by many local providers to include high-speed DSL services.

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