Allen County commissioners defended their proposal Tuesday morning to shift the majority of emergency medical services funding to a countywide sales tax, addressing questions about how the ambulance service is currently funded and how the proposed tax could affect property owners.
Allen County voters will decide in the Nov. 3 election whether to approve a countywide half-cent sales tax to help fund EMS. The proposal comes two years after voters rejected a similar measure.
According to the county, the proposed tax would generate an estimated $1.3 million annually to support ambulance operations. If approved, it would take effect in April 2027 and remain in place for five years, ending in 2032 unless voters agree to extend it.
The county estimates the tax could eventually reduce property taxes by nearly 6 mills, or just over $1.2 million.
DURING Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners discussed recent newspaper coverage that questioned statements in county educational materials about how EMS is funded. The discussion centered on a claim put forth in a county press release.
In August, the commissioners agreed to a $5,000 contract with Kansas City lobbyist Mike Taylor of Strategy Consultants to help educate the public about the proposed half-cent sales tax. Part of this contract included writing press releases on behalf of the county.
In one of these releases, it states: “Right now, homeowners, business owners and farmers pay the full cost of EMS services through the property tax.”
The Iola Register pointed out in its Saturday, Oct. 17 edition that the county’s press release does not include all of the ambulance fund’s revenue sources. The EMS system relies on a combination of motor vehicle taxes, property taxes, insurance reimbursements and patient payments for its funding.
In 2025, the ambulance fund received approximately $1.04 million from a 5.703-mill property tax levy, accounting for about half of its income. Motor vehicle taxes accounted for 5% of the fund’s revenue, while insurance reimbursements and patient payments totaled $859,257.52, or about 43%. These figures differ from the statement in the county’s information.
Commission Chairman David Lee complained Tuesday of a “gotcha moment,” by the Register, complaining that commissioners all along had been transparent about the service’s funding.
COUNTY CLERK Shannon Patterson explained that motor vehicle taxes are included in the county’s property tax levy, even though vehicle owners pay those taxes when registering their vehicles rather than seeing them on their property tax statements.
The county has no control over motor vehicle tax rates.
“Anytime I gave the commission numbers, I was giving you this entire section,” Patterson explained. “So the motor vehicle tax has been included. I just didn’t have it broken out that way for you.”
Commissioner Jerry Daniels criticized editorial opposition to the proposed sales tax, saying, “With the incorporation of the state park, for people that write editorials in the paper to not support that is absolutely unbelievable.”
“I think a good bullet point for discussions in the next week or two is if it passes, your property taxes will go down. We don’t know by how much. After it takes effect, it’s going to take time.”
He said the proposal would change how EMS is funded rather than eliminate the cost of providing the service.
