Washington County committee hears $3.5 million countywide EMS proposal; public listening sessions planned

The Washington County Public Safety Committee heard an introductory presentation on a proposed countywide EMS system that would be funded by a $3.5 million property-tax levy intended to support local fire and EMS providers and improve countywide coordination. County Executive (unnamed in the transcript) framed the issue as urgent, saying, “This issue is acute. It’s not a crisis that we’re waiting to see. It’s one we’re living in the midst of.”

Chief Public Safety Officer (speaker 5) laid out five objectives for the plan: reduce long-term property-tax burden, bolster volunteer and paid-on-call services, preserve EMS coverage, relieve municipal fiscal pressure and create fiscally sustainable support while maintaining local control. He summarized operational changes the program would enable, including priority-based dispatching and better matching of resources to call urgency. “A county-supported system would preserve local fire and EMS providers, coordinate available personnel, ambulances, and fire apparatus,” he said.

Presentations highlighted demographic and operational drivers: Washington County’s population was presented as about 136,000 with nearly one in five residents age 65 or older, and EMS incidents rose in the county from 11,295 in 2018 to 16,847 in recent data — roughly a 50% increase over seven years. Presenters and chiefs said declining volunteer recruitment and rising call volumes are straining existing municipal systems.

Committee members pressed for fiscal detail, asking how the levy would appear on tax bills, whether municipalities would be ‘made whole,’ and whether the program would effectively be permanent. Presenters said the levy is a property-tax levy redistributed by equalized value, that roughly $2.025 million of the levy would flow back dollar-for-dollar to municipalities under the current proposal, and that contract length (an initial eight-year term was discussed) and annual adjustment limits remain to be negotiated.

The committee voted to direct staff to draft a resolution and SMART goals so members have written material for the next meetings; members also approved up to $30,000 from a strategic-priority fund to advertise listening sessions in late August. The county board is scheduled to receive the same presentation on August 12; the committee intends to use community feedback in September before a possible recommendation to the county board in October.