Benton County Officials Want City Support On Ambulance Vote

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County's justices of the peace will look ahead to a November vote on the county's rural ambulance issue as voters make their choices in today's primary election.

The Quorum Court's Committee of the Whole voted 9-4 last week to send a plan for a property tax increase of up to 0.2 mills on for further discussion and possible placement on the November general election ballot. The tax increase would provide revenue dedicated for emergency medical services.

What’s Next

Quorum Court Meeting

The Benton County Quorum Court will discuss rural ambulance service options at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Quorum Courtroom at the County Administration Building, 215 E. Central Ave. in Bentonville.

The committee also voted to keep alive an ordinance for a revised version of a plan rejected by voters in February -- an emergency medical services district and an annual per-household fee reduced from $85 to $40.

Joel Jones, justice of the peace for District 7, said Thursday's Quorum Court meeting should be the start of a discussion that involves county and city leaders and voters.

Tom Allen, justice of the peace for District 4, said the county will have to expand the discussion beyond Quorum Court or committee meetings at some time before November if the justices of the peace decide to pursue either of the two options.

"I don't think it's going to be enough by itself," Allen said of the Quorum Court meetings. "I think it's going to be part of the mix, but we're going to have to reach out to people in the cities. I would think we're probably going to need to schedule some town hall meetings."

The county needs to have support from city leaders on any funding plan, Allen said.

"If we're going to do anything that affects the taxation of the cities we need to reach out to the mayors and the city councils or boards," he said. "We really need that even for the option that doesn't directly affect the cities."

A 0.2-mill tax would raise about $900,000 a year from both personal property and real property, according to information from last week's meeting. It was estimated a person with a $100,000 home would pay about $4 a year more in property tax. Mike Crandall, county accounting manager, told the justices of the peace a $40 annual fee for residents in the proposed district would bring in about $582,403. The district would exclude the area now in the Northeast Benton County Fire Department's service area.

The county has agreed to pay seven cities about $942,000 to provide rural ambulance service this year. The justices of the peace also have agreed to continue the contracts with the cities in 2015, when the cost is expected to increase to about $1.1 million.

City officials were cautious when asked about the millage proposal, saying they haven't yet been contacted directly by county officials.

"I've not been asked that question," Bentonville Mayor Bob McCaslin said when asked about city support for a millage increase. Other recent tax proposals would indicate the county's plan would have some opposition, McCaslin said.

"I think anything that includes a tax or millage increase is going to be viewed in a very critical way as the cities and the school districts have seen," he said. "The likelihood of something like that passing is not very high."

Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards' initial reaction was to ask if the county's plan would relieve his city of the burden of paying for ambulance service. Centerton has a contract with Bentonville and pays $90,000 a year for ambulance service.

"I think the fee, if they bring it down and the county pays a part of the cost, would probably have a better chance of passing." Edwards said. "I don't see a benefit to our city unless they're going to pay the money I pay to Bentonville. There might be a benefit to individuals if you're gong to be travelling from Centerton to Decatur and you have an accident. That's going to be out in the county so it could be benefit that way."

Rogers Fire Chief Tom Jenkins said the volume of calls his department responds to outside the city limits is overwhelmingly tied to rural residents. He said it would be tough to persuade city residents they're likely to reap some benefits from taxing themselves for rural ambulance service.

"Over 90 percent of our calls out in the county aren't to these mystery out-of-towners," Jenkins said. "It's for people who live out there. If you want to know what the demand for service is going to be in an area, you count rooftops."

Jenkins said he thinks the emergency medical services district with a fee for the service remains the best choice, pointing to the area served by the Northeast Benton County Fire Department.

"I think NEBCO continues to be an excellent model for us to look at," Jenkins said. "That's a local solution to a local problem."

Kurt Moore, justice of the peace for District 13, said the county and cities need to be in accord if the tax increase option is going to be considered.

"If the city leaders tell their citizens to vote against it I would not give it much chance of passage," Moore said, adding that the county needs to begin working on a consensus sooner rather than later.

"Between now and the third reading that's something somebody needs to do," he said. "That's something that needs to come up at this meeting. The JPs can ask the county judge or someone in the administration to start working with the cities. I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty easy sell out in the county. The problem is going to be getting the people in the cities to buy it. We have to come up with some kind of narrative for the people in the cities on how this will benefit them. Most, if not all, of that money is going to help with their emergency medical services. That's an immediate benefit."

Any ballot measure has to be to the County Clerk's Office in August to meet the deadline for the November election. The Quorum Court typically reads ordinances at three meetings before adoption, meaning the first reading needs to be in May and the final reading needs to be done at the July meeting.

NW News on 05/20/2014

Upcoming Events