Forum on EMS levy planned for Oct. 8 in Fairfield

FAIRFIELD – The public is invited to attend a forum on Oct. 8 to ask questions about the proposed emergency medical services levy that will be on the ballot this November for Jefferson County residents.

The forum will begin at 7 p.m. that day in the Cambridge Building at Jefferson County Fairgrounds. The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors announced in July its intention to place a ballot measure up for vote on Tuesday, Nov. 5 to create an EMS levy, which would be 75 cents per $1,000 of taxable valuation. Money raised from the levy would go toward Jefferson County Ambulance Service, which became a county-run service last October.

Supervisor Lee Dimmitt said he wants the public to understand that this will not be a tax increase, since taxpayers are already paying for the ambulance through other taxes. Jefferson County Health Center is eliminating its 27-cent levy for ambulance services since it is now a county-run service. Jefferson County will lower its general supplemental tax 48 cents, money that is currently going to pay for the ambulance. The county is also going to cut its general basic property tax a further 32 cents, as part of a requirement from state legislation.

After accounting for these tax decreases, Jefferson County taxpayers will end up paying less in taxes, since these three tax reductions total $1.07 per $1,000, more than the proposed EMS levy of 75 cents, for a net tax decrease of 32 cents.

“We’re shifting the burden from one fund to another fund,” Dimmitt said.

Dimmitt said he has either met with or scheduled a meeting with every city council in the county except Pleasant Plain to explain the proposed EMS levy and why the county has proposed it. The levy requires 60 percent approval to pass.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com