BENTONVILLE — Benton County’s justices of the peace voted 9-2 Tuesday in favor of imposing an $85 per household fee to pay for rural ambulance service.
Kevin Harrison, justice of the peace for District 5, said adopting the proposal for the annual fee was a moral and ethical obligation.
“Sometimes, we need to do what is right,” Harrison said. “What’s right is not always easy or popular.”
Brent Meyers, justice of the peace for District 14, said he heard from a number of constituents and while they want ambulance service, they were also opposed to putting the fee on their property tax.
“We are elected to do the public’s work,” Meyers said. “I can’t vote for it on the property tax.”
Patrick Carr, justice of the peace for District 12, put the question in direct terms.
“What is one human life worth?” Carr asked. “If that ambulance doesn’t come to your home and your spouse, your parent or your child dies, you’re not going to blame the ambulance service, you’re going to blame us. We were elected to do the right thing for the people of Benton County.”
At A Glance
What’s Next
Benton County’s justices of the peace decide on imposing a fee to pay for rural ambulance service at the Quorum Court’s next meeting, which has been set for 6 p.m. Sept. 30. The proposal would be subject to a referendum effort if residents of the proposed emergency medical service district oppose it, George Spence, county attorney, told the Quorum Court.
Source: Staff Report
The county’s Finance Committee recommended an $85 annual fee on rural households to pay for ambulance service at its Sept. 3 meeting. On Tuesday, the Committee of the Whole voted to send the measure on to the Quorum Court for action. Justices of the peace Tom Allen, Kevin Harrison, Pat Adams, Joel Jones, Susan Anglin, Michelle Chiocco, Steve Curry, Carr and Kurt More voted in favor of the plan. Justices of the peace Jay Harrison and Meyers voted against the measure.
The proposal is part of an effort to resolve the question of how to pay for service. The county has agreed to pay the service providers about $942,000 for 2014 and the estimated cost of the service increases to about $1.1 million in 2015 and 2016. Ambulance service to residents of the area served by the Northeast Benton County Fire Department will not be subject to the proposed $85 fee since they already pay a $100 annual fee to support the NEBCO emergency medical service district.
Sarah Daniels, comptroller, provided information on potential revenue from the proposal, which would be used to pay the seven municipal departments that will provide ambulance service. If the fee is set at $85 per household, that would generate about $1,252,480 in revenue, Daniels said. The fee would be placed on property tax bills, Daniels said, and at a collection rate of 93 percent the county could budget $1,237,606 from the $85 annual fee.
Five people spoke to the issue at Tuesday’s meeting, with four opposing the fee or requesting it be put to a vote directly. One man asked it not be placed on his property tax bill, but said he would be willing to pay the fee otherwise.
The committee also endorsed recommending 7 percent raises for the command staff of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. That proposal will be moved on to the Quorum Court for its Sept. 30 meeting.
Sheriff Kelley Cradduck has been seeking raises for Maj. Rob Holly, Maj. Shawn Holloway, Capt. Chris Sparks, Capt. Nathan Atchison, Capt. Brandon Rogers, Capt. Jeremy Felton and Capt. Jeremy Guyll. Cradduck had asked to move each employee to the maximum pay allowed at their grade.
Cradduck has said he has found ways to increase revenue his office generates and ways to cut costs to offset the cost of the raises.