Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ems Fire Districts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County recommends holding EMS district tax rates to avoid larger general-fund subsidy; EMS subsidy flagged in budget
Summary
Finance staff recommended keeping the EMS district tax rate at current levels (5¢ for most districts; Longacre/others at 3.75¢ where requested), producing a projected $541,000 increase in special-district revenue and reducing the general-fund subsidy toward EMS operations.
Beaufort County staff told the Board of Commissioners they recommend maintaining current EMS and fire-district tax rates rather than reverting several districts to revenue-neutral rates, a choice staff said would reduce the general fund subsidy for emergency medical services.
Anita explained the recommendation will raise special-district revenue next year by approximately $541,000, primarily because staff propose retaining the 5¢ tax rate in multiple EMS/fire districts that otherwise would have been reduced to a revenue-neutral level. She said the Longacre district requested a 3.75¢ rate (historically 3.5¢) and the county agreed to that level for the Longacre district.
Staff noted the general fund has provided a large subsidy for county EMS operations and that leaving district rates at current levels reduces that countywide subsidy. Anita said some districts (Bath, Washington, Pantigo) collect revenue that the county keeps because the county provides the service in those areas; in one case staff said the county keeps a portion of a district’s truck revenue for services tied to a specific truck.
No formal board vote was taken at the session; the recommendation was part of the staff’s recommended budget presented for commissioners to consider during the upcoming budget adoption process.
Ending: Staff will include the district-rate recommendation and the projected revenue increase in the recommended budget materials for commissioners’ review before final decisions.
