The Colusa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday appointed seven people to the Colusa County Citizens Advisory Committee that will eventually make all recommendations as to how revenue from the half-cent sales tax increase will be spent to provide ground ambulance services within Colusa County.
Voters approved Measure A on Nov. 8. The increase, which went into effect April 1 on the purchase of taxable goods and services countywide, is estimated to generate about $2 million in new revenue each year for only ground ambulances services, officials said.
The seven-member committee is composed of five members appointed by each Supervisor and two members who represent EMS/First Responders, approved by the entire board.
District 1 Supervisor Merced Corona appointed Matt Alonso, a longtime resident of Arbuckle, with experience in running a large business and working with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
District 2 Supervisor Daurice Smith appointed longtime Colusa resident and local businessman and restaurateur Don Litchfield, who is also a volunteer firefighter.
District 3 Supervisor Kent Boes selected Andi Armstrong, who served on the Williams Unified School District Board of Trustees for 20 years, and a longtime board member for the nonprofit organization Citizens for a Better Williams. Armstrong was also trained and served as a volunteer first responder.
District 4 Supervisor Gary Evans selected Allen Beck, a longtime Maxwell resident. Beck served 10 years on the Maxwell Cemetery Board and has been on the Maxwell Fire Protection District board for 30 years.
District 5 Supervisor Janice Bell selected Jeff Winters, who has served as Sacramento River Fire Protection chief for 41 years. Winters was actively involved in the ground ambulance study and was the major proponent of Measure A.
The supervisorial members will serve (four-year) terms concurrent with their appointee supervisor. The First Responder/EMS members will serve two-year terms.
The Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to appoint Bo Salazar, a fire engineer with the Colusa Fire Department, and Ty Urrutia, a volunteer with the Maxwell Fire Protection District, to serve as First Responder members of the committee.
The committee will study problems of general or special interest to the board regarding ground ambulance services, make reports, and recommend the expenditure of funds derived from the special countywide local sales tax imposed with the passage of Measure A. â–