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Committee grills staff after Medic One hike forces $156,831 increase to Benton Harbor’s ambulance costs; 0.8-mill option referred to Public Safety
Summary
Officials were surprised after Medic One raised Benton Harbor’s annual payment from $100,133 to $256,964, a $156,831 increase; staff proposed a temporary ambulance millage of up to 0.8 mills (about $0.80 per $1,000 taxable value) to raise roughly $155,000 and referred the item to the Public Safety committee for more study.
City officials told the legislative committee that a recent Medic One rate recalculation would raise Benton Harbor’s annual ambulance payment from $100,133 to $256,964 — an increase of $156,831 — and that the city lacks budgeted funds to cover the jump. City Manager Little said he attended the Medic One meeting and was surprised by the size of the increase and the consultant’s chosen formula for distributing costs.
Little described the distributional impact across member municipalities and said some towns received reductions while Benton Harbor and certain townships saw sharp increases. "The rate that Benton Harbor was paying was $100,133 a year. They increased it to $256,964, which is $156,831 more," he told the committee.
The attorney presented a resolution option that would place a proposed ambulance millage of up to 0.8 mills on the August ballot to raise roughly $155,000. The attorney said the deadline to submit mill language to the county is short and that the 0.8-mill figure — 80 cents per $1,000 of taxable value — was the lowest levy estimated to cover the immediate shortfall. "If you decide to do a millage... it would be 8/10 of 1 mill. So, it would essentially be 80 cents per $1,000 for all the taxable value throughout the city," the attorney said.
Committee members pressed staff for alternatives. Members suggested pursuing grants, combining requests with Benton Township, exploring a special assessment or per-household charge, or creating a local ambulance service to retain economic benefits in Benton Harbor. Several members also raised equity concerns about the distributional outcome, saying the increase fell on predominantly Black municipalities. One committee member urged outreach to state and federal grant programs and said the millage should be a last-resort, worst-case safety net.
No final vote was taken. The committee agreed to send the ambulance funding matter to the Public Safety committee for detailed review and asked staff to gather the Medic One formula and supporting numbers via a Freedom of Information Act request so the city can analyze options before deciding whether to place a millage on the ballot.
