Emergency medical services in Allen County cost taxpayers around $2.5 million a year. About half comes from property taxes, with the rest from motor vehicle taxes and insurance reimbursements and patient payments.
County commissioners have placed a proposal to raise the county sales tax by a half cent, going from 1.25% to 1.75%, on the Nov. 3 ballot. The money will be used to fund EMS, which, they say, could result in lower property taxes in the future.
If approved, the measure would shift how EMS is funded.
No one is questioning whether EMS is worth the investment, much less this publication. When you or someone you love is in crisis, lives depend on an ambulance and trained professionals. EMS is a critical service for our county, and we support fully funding it.
The devil, as they say, is in the details.
SALES TAXES are universally considered regressive. That means they take a larger percentage of money from low-income residents than from the wealthy, even though everyone pays the same percentage. Property taxes are quite different; you have to own property to pay taxes on it. And because the more property you own, the more you pay, our county’s most prosperous pay more.
Allen County is a relatively poor county. About 1,300, or 11%, of our population participates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the program that provides food stamps, the 11th highest participation in the state.
Median household income here, just over $60,000, is well under the statewide mark of $75,000. A recent analysis from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation says Allen County is “faring slightly worse than the average county in Kansas for population health and well-being.”
A HIGH BAR is thus required if local leaders want to ask our neediest residents to pay more for everyday needs. For virtually every single item — gas, food, toiletries, and more — those with little financial flexibility would be asked to tighten their belts. Inflation shows no sign of slowing. Gas remains stuck at around $4 per gallon. If the sales tax measure passes, the combined sales tax in Iola would increase from 8.75% to 9.25%. Humboldt’s would rise to 10%.
In our view, this sales tax proposal does not meet that bar.
County commissioners have done strikingly little to justify placing it on the ballot a second time in three years. After months of discussion, the commission decided to move forward in early September and has waited until after early voting has begun to make their case.
What’s more, an October news release distributed by the county includes misleading information. “Right now, homeowners, business owners and farmers pay the full cost of EMS services through the property tax,” it reads.
That’s just not true.
As noted above, property taxes make up about half of the EMS budget, with other funding sources making up the difference.
Between now and the Nov. 3 Election Day, commissioners have scheduled six public forums to discuss the issue. Beginning Oct. 20, Commissioner David Lee will lead discussions in Mildred, Iola, Savonburg, Moran and Carlyle, while Commissioner Jerry Daniels will hold an Oct. 27 discussion in Humboldt.
It’s imperative at these forums that commissioners be fully transparent with voters about how EMS is funded and not tell just half the story.
Again, the value of EMS is not at question here. How we fund it is.
