County Supervisors Agree To Put EMS Tax Levy On The Ballot

At the recommendation of its EMS Advisory Council, the Mills County Board Of Supervisors have agreed to put an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) tax levy on the November election ballot.

Under the measure, property owners would be taxed up to 75 cents per $1,000 valuation to help fund EMS services in the county.

EMS Advisory Council members told the supervisors during a presentation last week that additional funding is needed to ensure county-wide EMS service.

“There needs to be an increase in funding to keep even the current model of EMS in the county going,” said Malvern City Administrator and EMS Advisory Council Chair Joe George.

John Stacey of Oak Township noted that the size has EMS service districts has increased in recent years, creating greater challenges for local departments.

“Increasing the size of districts has caused us a lot of issues with our ambulances,” he said. “Putting them on these county roads, they are getting beat up pretty bad on these roads and the maintenance on the squads are astronomical.”

Glenwood Fire Chief Matt Gray said current EMS staffing is at a critical level in Mills County as the need for service and the cost of operations continues to climb.

“Call volume is going to continue to go up. We’re seeing more multi-generational family housing with people having Grandma, brothers, sisters living with them,” Gray said. “We’re one of the few counties that doesn’t have a hospital so when transporting, you could be out of service 30-40 minutes up to an hour.

“Between staffing and equipment costs, and what we get off donations and what we get off budget, it sometimes  isn’t enough to fund that department.”
If the EMS levy were to pass for the full 75 cents per $1,000, George said the additional tax for a home assessed at $210,000 would be $75 annually or $6.25 per month.

Supervisor Jack Sayers noted that cities and counties aren’t required by law to provide EMS services and said without the additional funding, EMS could go away.

Fellow supervisor Richard Crouch said he isn’t in favor of a new tax, but believes EMS is an important service the county needs as local rescue departments struggle to stay staffed.

“I don’t like the idea of putting a tax on for this, but I don’t see any  other way of affordable care for the people,” said Crouch. “Our volunteerism has went to zero. The ones that are left are very dedicated. There’s just nobody young that wants to step in do this and when if you look at what it costs for training, it’s just not feasible the amount of money you have to put out yourself to become an EMT.”

Supervisor Lonnie Mayberry made the motion to move forward with putting the measure on the ballot and letting the public decide its fate. The tax levy will need at least 60 percent approval from voters for passage.