Emergency Management Director asks Jasper County to begin process to declare EMS an essential service

Emergency Management Director Jamey Robinson briefed the Jasper County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday on steps to declare Emergency Medical Services an essential service in Jasper County, saying the first step is to publish a notice of intent and then schedule a public hearing for citizens to speak.

Robinson outlined the sequence he said is required: publish the notice of intent, publish and hold a public hearing, adopt a resolution, establish an EMS Advisory Council, and then put the question to voters at the next election. He told the board that a 60% voter approval threshold is required before the county could begin collecting a dedicated tax to support EMS.

The board indicated it would move forward with publishing the notice of intent, but the transcript records that there was no formal board action taken at the meeting to start the process. Robinson also notified the board that a full‑scale, live emergency exercise with Co-Line involving five counties is scheduled for the following day; no action was requested on the exercise update.

Why it matters: Declaring EMS an essential service is a procedural step that can allow a county to levy a special tax or fee to fund emergency medical services; any levy would require the advisory steps Robinson described and voter approval at the stated 60% threshold. The board’s direction to publish a notice of intent begins the public phase of that process.

Next steps: According to Robinson’s outline, county staff would publish the notice of intent, schedule and hold the public hearing, and—following a resolution from the board—place the question on the next election ballot for voter approval.