By Linda Dean Cooper
Anyone who has attended years of Levy County Commission meetings as I have can smell when the county sets the stage for assessment increases. Improved properties pay the assessments, with no discounts for those taxes. Improved properties pay assessments (non-ad valorem taxes) and ad valorem.
Current assessment taxes are below:
- Ambulance $154
- Fire $129
- Solid Waste (landfill) $116
To prepare myself for the new budget year FY25-26, I requested a copy of the county ambulance fee schedule. That was a real shocker that the public needs to be aware of. The fees have remained unchanged since 2014! I was floored and sent a scathing email last week to the BoCC expressing my disgust at the failure of the past BoCC’s outdated 2014 ambulance fee schedule.
Insurance Companies Winners – Taxpayers Lose
The only winners of the 2014 fees are insurance companies. The county has written off an average of $1 million annually in the last several years. That comes out of taxpayer pockets while insurance companies pay 2014 pricing.
Current EMS Fees & Charges for Services Per Resolution #2014-51
- Advance Life Support (ALS) Non-Emergency Base Rate: $355.16
- Advance Life Support (ALS) Emergency Base Rate: $562.33
- Basic Life Support (BLS) Non-Emergency Base Rate: $295.96
- Basic Life Support (BLS) Emergency Base Rate: $473.54
- Advanced Life Support 2 Base Rate: $ 813.90
- Specialty Care Transport: $ 961.88
- Transport Mileage Fee $14.65 per mile/1-17 miles; $9.76 per mile/over 17 miles
- Fee for Waiting Time with Patients $125/1st ¼ hour; $60 per subsequent ¼ hour
- Special Events or Other Occasions where EMS Unit & Crew Requested: BLS $70/hour, ALS 140/hour
Brawl between BoCC and the Clerk of Court Cost Taxpayers
The brawl between the BoCC and Clerk of Court Danny Shipp earlier this year over budget software access vs budget data, hurt and cost the taxpayers. The civil case was dismissed in favor of the Clerk. This public brawl prevented an increase in this year’s assessment due to budget data held hostage and temper tantrums by the Clerk and BoCC. Budget data is needed to calculate increases or decreases in assessments. The commissioners seemed more interested in software access than electronic data files.
Has Public Safety Director Harrell Failed Citizens and Commissioners?
Why has Public Safety Director Mitch Harrell not mentioned when he requests a write-off of bad debt to inform the BoCC that it may be time to review the outdated 2014 fee schedule?
Director Harrell is listed on Tuesday’s agenda as item #6 Presenting the LCDPS FY2024 Fourth Quarter Department Review and item #7 Presenting the FY2024 Fourth Quarter Write-offs for Board for approval; Presenting write-offs to the board for approval per Resolution 2012-27.
The write-off total for FY24-25, according to the chart in the detailed agenda packet, is $1,311,033.50.
Hopefully, Director Harrell will provide more information to BoCC and citizens at Tuesday’s meeting on how we got here and what he envisions for future EMS funding. Will the BoCC explore private vs public EMS services? It’s a no-brainer that all options should be explored before next year’s budget starts in a few months. Do you know any private businesses still surviving by charging customers 2014 prices?
Below: PDF of 2014 Fee Resolution and December 17 Agenda Items
2014 EMS Fee Resolution PDF
Director Harrell Agenda Item 5 & 6 Update and Request to Write Off Bad Debt PDF
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Posted December 15, 2024
