Ambulance sales tax to appear on April ballot
Janaury 14, 2015
Charlea Mills
For Barry County residents in the South Barry County Ambulance District (SBCAD), a proposed sales tax will be appearing on their April ballot.
The SBCAD held their monthly board meeting on Tuesday, January 13, to approve the ballot language of the proposed change and also go over informational materials to be distributed to the public about why the board feels the change is necessary. The board hopes voters will approve a rollback of the property tax levy and, instead, replace it with a district sales tax of 1/2-cent, a move they say is more fair since around one-third of the ambulance runs are for non-residents that are travelling through, visiting family or vacationing.
Shell Knob district board member Tom Rees stated, “This is a more fair way to continue services to everyone without us having to cut back on equipment.”
Currently, the SBCAD is funded through ambulance property taxes, however, the funds have never been sufficient with that system to fully fund the ambulance district, and due to an increased call volume over the last decade, the district is struggling to maintain and replace the equipment needed.
Tom Rees, Shell Knob region board member stated, “People regularly want to know why they pay taxes and still receive a bill for their ambulance, and they don’t realize that their taxes only fund a fraction of the ambulance district. Even though the property tax levy was approved in 1974 and a six-member board was established, a contract with another entity is needed to actually maintain an ambulance service, which is why people still receive a bill for ambulance services. As it stands currently, the SBCAD maintains the two ambulance barns, six ambulances and most of the equipment within with property tax levy funding. The SBCAD then contracts with an outside agency, presently Cox Health, to provide the 24-hour emergency personnel, stocking and maintaining the ambulances, fuel and utility costs of the two barns.
According to the SBCAD Board, the number of ambulance runs over the last decade has increased by on third, totalling around 3,000 calls a year. Most of the cause for the increase is changing medical care and also an aging population. The operating budget for the district is around $217,715 from property tax revenue. If the 1/2-cent sales tax passes, the district is anticipating an increase to around $490,316 annually to replace and maintain their ambulances and equipment.
Ken Cieslinski, SBCAD chairman, stated, “A lot of this comes down to demographics because there isn’t a trauma center across the street. We need a lot of life-saving equipment on the ambulance because of the distance from those trauma centers.” For example, the four cardio monitors used by the district need to be replaced at $35,000 each. Travel time to reach a major trauma center is always a concern when stocking ambulances in more rural areas.
The sales tax proposal will appear on April 7, 2015, and all residents residing within the ambulance district will have the opportunity to vote on the issue. The 1/2-cent sales tax would only apply to businesses within that district, which includes much of Barry County except for Purdy and Monett.Cassville, Jenkins, Wheaton, Exeter, Seligman, Washburn, Shell Knob, Eagle Rock and Golden are all part of the southern district that will either approve or shoot down the tax. If approved, property taxes would be reduced by the levy rollback for both individuals and businesses. In a statement released by the board, they said that the sales tax would be more fair for residents so that everyone who uses the service helps pay for it.
Charlea Mills
For Barry County residents in the South Barry County Ambulance District (SBCAD), a proposed sales tax will be appearing on their April ballot.
The SBCAD held their monthly board meeting on Tuesday, January 13, to approve the ballot language of the proposed change and also go over informational materials to be distributed to the public about why the board feels the change is necessary. The board hopes voters will approve a rollback of the property tax levy and, instead, replace it with a district sales tax of 1/2-cent, a move they say is more fair since around one-third of the ambulance runs are for non-residents that are travelling through, visiting family or vacationing.
Shell Knob district board member Tom Rees stated, “This is a more fair way to continue services to everyone without us having to cut back on equipment.”
Currently, the SBCAD is funded through ambulance property taxes, however, the funds have never been sufficient with that system to fully fund the ambulance district, and due to an increased call volume over the last decade, the district is struggling to maintain and replace the equipment needed.
Tom Rees, Shell Knob region board member stated, “People regularly want to know why they pay taxes and still receive a bill for their ambulance, and they don’t realize that their taxes only fund a fraction of the ambulance district. Even though the property tax levy was approved in 1974 and a six-member board was established, a contract with another entity is needed to actually maintain an ambulance service, which is why people still receive a bill for ambulance services. As it stands currently, the SBCAD maintains the two ambulance barns, six ambulances and most of the equipment within with property tax levy funding. The SBCAD then contracts with an outside agency, presently Cox Health, to provide the 24-hour emergency personnel, stocking and maintaining the ambulances, fuel and utility costs of the two barns.
According to the SBCAD Board, the number of ambulance runs over the last decade has increased by on third, totalling around 3,000 calls a year. Most of the cause for the increase is changing medical care and also an aging population. The operating budget for the district is around $217,715 from property tax revenue. If the 1/2-cent sales tax passes, the district is anticipating an increase to around $490,316 annually to replace and maintain their ambulances and equipment.
Ken Cieslinski, SBCAD chairman, stated, “A lot of this comes down to demographics because there isn’t a trauma center across the street. We need a lot of life-saving equipment on the ambulance because of the distance from those trauma centers.” For example, the four cardio monitors used by the district need to be replaced at $35,000 each. Travel time to reach a major trauma center is always a concern when stocking ambulances in more rural areas.
The sales tax proposal will appear on April 7, 2015, and all residents residing within the ambulance district will have the opportunity to vote on the issue. The 1/2-cent sales tax would only apply to businesses within that district, which includes much of Barry County except for Purdy and Monett.Cassville, Jenkins, Wheaton, Exeter, Seligman, Washburn, Shell Knob, Eagle Rock and Golden are all part of the southern district that will either approve or shoot down the tax. If approved, property taxes would be reduced by the levy rollback for both individuals and businesses. In a statement released by the board, they said that the sales tax would be more fair for residents so that everyone who uses the service helps pay for it.
