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Supervisors ask EMS Advisory Council for MOA changes after state recalculation of EMS levy
Summary
Board members directed county staff to amend the EMS Advisory Council Memorandum of Agreement after state legislation changed how EMS levies are calculated; the state certified a lower levy rate ($0.49170 per $1,000) but county officials say the change yields the same property tax dollars. The amended MOA will return to the Advisory Council for approval.
The Washington County Board of Supervisors discussed amendments to the EMS Advisory Council Memorandum of Agreement during its June 23 meeting after legislation altered the method used to calculate the EMS levy.
County Auditor Tamera S. Stewart told the Board that legislation changed the levy calculation by increasing the valuation base to include tax increment financing (TIF). The State certified a levy of $0.49170 per $1,000 of taxable valuation instead of $0.50000; the Auditor's Office stated the change results in equivalent property tax dollars under the new base calculation. The Auditor's Office has requested a breakdown showing how the EMS districts' 50% portion of collections will be distributed and to which entities those funds will be paid.
Supervisor Jack Seward Jr. said he wants to retain a percentage of EMS collections in the county fund for reserve rather than disbursing all collections immediately. In response, the Board directed Emergency Management Coordinator Nathan Schmuecker and EMT Toby Hancock to revise the MOA as requested and to return an amended agreement to the EMS Advisory Council for its approval.
The Board did not adopt the amended MOA at this meeting; instead it provided direction to staff to update the document and to work with the Advisory Council on final language. The transcript records the direction but does not include specifics about the percentage to be retained for reserve or the exact distribution formula; those details were left to be addressed in the amended MOA and by the Advisory Council.
