The Colusa County Board of Supervisors will likely determine in the next few weeks if a half-cent sales tax increase might be necessary to put before voters as a way to subsidize ambulance services.
The board, following an updated presentation by Scott Clough, of AP Triton, on Tuesday, said the only other option to a tax increase would be for the county to decrease the current level of services that are provided to the public.
Clough said the county has narrowed their options to subsidizing a private ambulance provider for two full-time advanced life support ambulances or working with a local fire district to provide similar services.
“Both of these options are very feasible,” Clough said. “Both are economically very close in what they provide.”
Clough said subsidizing a private ambulance would cost about $1.8 million per year.
“From a practicality standpoint, this option is probably the easiest process to initiate because it provides for a complete turnkey operation, as well as a turnkey process for selecting your bidder,” Clough said.
The second option, for fire districts to provide emergency medical services, would cost about $1.5-$2 million, largely because the infrastructure is not currently in place.
While county officials said contracting with a private provider would be the easiest to secure, they felt voters would be more likely to support a special tax if local fire departments were utilized. The second option might also prove to be more sustainable, given the difficulty private providers have in recruiting and retaining qualified paramedics to staff ambulances.
“The whole EMS system is a mess,” said Williams Fire Chief Jeff Gilbert. “It’s not just here, it’s everywhere.”
Gilbert said by the county subsidizing the cost to provide Williams Fire with one additional EMS staff member per shift at about $18 an hour plus benefits, the Williams Fire District could commit to dispitching two paramedics and a BLS ambulance to any emergency call in the county in which the Enloe ALS unit is not available.
Williams Fire District was the only agency to provide a cost analysis for that scenario, Clough said. Colusa Fire has already initiated a basic ambulance service by outfitting the command vehicle to transport patients, which rolls out to all emergency calls in its jurisdiction, and provides basic services within 14 miles of the city if the Enloe ALS unit is unavailable.
The board at their Feb. 1 meeting is expected to engage a firm that has expertise in tax initiatives to provide a local sales tax analysis before the board considers a ballot initiative in the June primary.
“We can’t do anything without a funding mechanism,” said Supervisor Daurice Smith. “Until we find that funding mechanism, we can’t really make decisions on which way to go.”
Officials estimate that a .5 percent increase in the county sales tax rate on goods purchased in the unincorporated areas would raise an additional $1.2 million in revenue annually, but officials want to know where sales taxes are currently being generated, whether largely on the I-5 corridor or from local agriculture retail purchases, such as tractors and fertilizer.
Because the county may propose a special tax, the ballot measure would require two-thirds voter approval (66 percent) rather than a simple majority (50 percent plus one).
“I think any sales tax is going to be hard to pass, regardless of what you want it for,” said Chairman Merced Corona. “It’s going to be hard to sell, whether it’s a general or a special tax, especially since Colusa is doing one too. It’s going to be tough.” ■