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EMS board approves $6 per‑100‑square‑foot commercial billing rate and refers proposal to county commission
Summary
The county's EMS board voted to approve the same commercial billing rate used previously—$6 per 100 square feet—and referred the matter to the Morgan County Commission for action; commissioners debated the fairness of square-foot billing versus employee-based approaches.
An EMS board representative told the Morgan County Commission on Oct. 15 that the EMS board voted to approve a commercial billing rate of $6 per 100 square feet for commercial properties and to send the proposal to the county commission for consideration.
"They approved the same rate as last time, which was $6 per 100 square feet for commercial properties," the EMS board representative said during the meeting.
The board and commissioners discussed alternatives to a square-footage fee, including charging by employee count. One commissioner said a square-foot approach could be unfair to small businesses with a large footprint and few employees, while others said employee count also has shortcomings for businesses with frequent customer turnover.
Why it matters: The EMS board framed the fee as a way to address budget shortfalls for emergency medical services. Staff said charging by square footage is one common method used in other counties; they also said there is no uniform statewide method for commercial EMS billing.
Estimated revenue figures discussed at the meeting were not clear. A staff comment—"Looks like it would generate about a 100"—was made but the units and final estimate were not explained in the discussion.
The commission did not vote on the proposal during the meeting; the EMS board's action was a referral requesting county-level approval. Commissioners asked staff for additional detail about revenue projections and fairness before taking a vote.
The exchange included questions about how similar programs charge (square footage, employee count or other metrics) and which approach best reflects EMS usage by commercial properties. No formal county ordinance or statute was cited in the discussion; staff said methods vary across jurisdictions.
Next steps: County staff were asked to return with more detailed revenue estimates and comparisons of billing methods for the commission's consideration.
