SEBASTIAN COUNTY (FORT SMITH) -- The Sebastian County Quorum Court met Tuesday (May 17) to vote on raising the emergency medical service rates everyone pays for ambulance services.
The quorum court had two options: either approve the rate raise or put it on the ballot for a special election.
The justices of the peace voted unanimously to let the public vote on the issue.
Sebastian County EMS serves every city in the county excluding Fort Smith and Barling.
Everyone in the service area pays an yearly $18 rate, which is included in property taxes.
The proposed rate will make that rate $68 a year, increasing it by $25 in 2017, and again by $25 in 2018.
The $18 rate was established in 1986, when Sebastian EMS only had one crew, one unit and an $88,000 budget.
Now, 30 years later, there are two crews that work 24 hours, 7 days a week, two units and a $1.7 million budget.
Sebastian County Judge David Hudson said the rate increase is needed to provide the best possible service.
“What this will do, is it will help stabilize and guarantee that the county can provide this service at this level because we do have two paramedics on duty at all times, and we buy very effective equipment in ambulances which are on the upper end of that type of equipment,” Sebastian County Judge David Hudson said.
Hudson added that they could lower the cost by staffing only one paramedic with an EMT and buying lower end equipment, but he said that would result in a lower level of service.
The special election will be held August 9, 2016.