Benton County Ambulance Plans Gain Support

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials got down to the basics Saturday on plans to pay for rural ambulance service.

"We're all paying $3-plus for a gallon of gasoline," Shirley Sandlin, justice of the peace for District 8 told a crowd of about 40 people at Centerton City Hall. "For two gallons of gas we can support this millage."

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Benton County’s justices of the peace will host a series of meetings to present information about plans to pay for rural ambulance service. The meeting schedule can be found on the county’s website at www.bentoncountyar.….

Sandlin was one of several justices of the peace who attended Mayor Bill Edwards' "Coffee With The Mayor" event Saturday morning to present information on the two ambulance funding proposals on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. County Judge Bob Clinard also spoke at the event.

Sandlin, who said most of her district is in Bentonville, said she believes city residents should see the need to have ambulance service through Benton County.

"I have no problem recommending it to the people of Bentonville," she said. "Not all of us stay within our boundaries. We all like to get out and go places."

The county will ask voters to consider two plans to pay part of the cost of ambulance service in unincorporated areas. The county will pay about $942,000 this year to the seven cities providing ambulance service. The cost is expected to increase to about $1.1 million in 2015.

One proposal would levy 0.2 mills to raise an estimated $834,000 annually. The tax would apply to all residents.

The second proposal is an emergency medical services district with a $40 fee and would raise about $528,000 a year. The district would include the unincorporated areas except the area served by the Northeast Benton County Fire Department.

Joel Jones of District 7 also said the ambulance vote is important to city residents. Jones said the millage would cost a property owner about $4 a year for property assessed at $100,000.

"You're always traveling out in the county," Jones said. "At some pointy you're going to drive on county roads. Is $4 a year worth it to know it's there if you need it.? It's like insurance. You hope you won't ever need it but we all have it."

The audience was mostly supportive of the plans. Robert Anderson of Centerton, a former justices of the peace, recalled his years on the Quorum Court working on the budget when 85 percent of the costs were in personnel and warned if the county has to pay for ambulance service without a dedicated revenue source people will lose their jobs and services will be cut.

"If the millage fails and if the fee fails there will be people cut," he said. "There's no way the JPs can avoid it. There will be service reductions. There's no way it can be avoided."

Anderson said his brother operated an ambulance service in another state serving a county with a population close to Benton County.

"It took $1 million a year just to keep the doors open," he said. "The cities are not required to provide ambulance service without being paid. Centerton provides you with water but if you don't pay your bill they'll cut off your service. If we don't pay the bills, we won't have the service."

Eric Exner, who lives just outside Centerton, applauded the effort of the justices of the peace and particularly Sandlin's down-to-earth illustration of the cost of the millage plan to an average resident.

"That's your campaign right there," he said.

Exner said it's crucial to get information to city residents who will vote on the millage question. Benton County's population is split with about 80 percent living in cities and 20 percent in unincorporated areas.

"We've got to find a way to communicate to the people of Rogers, Bentonville and the other cities," Exner said. "That's our vote right there."

Susan Anglin of District 9 said the Quorum Court and officials have considered other options and alternative methods of providing ambulance service over the past four years but have agreed the best choice now is to work with providers and seek a dedicated source of revenue to pay for the service.

"We've got to have ambulance service, but we've got to pay for it," she said.

Clinard said he wants people to look beyond the price of the service, saying it's important to understand the potential cost of not having ambulance service.

"We're dealing with lives here," he said. "It's life or death."

NW News on 09/21/2014

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