The Howard County Ambulance District is asking voters to approve a 1% sales tax in exchange for a 50% reduction in property taxes to fund expanded emergency services. The proposal will appear on the April 7 ballot as “Ambulance District Property Tax Relief.”

District Director Frank Flaspohler presented details of the proposal during a sparsely attended question-and-answer session on Saturday morning, citing a sharp rise in emergency calls. The district responded to 1,058 calls in 2022. That number increased to 1,308 calls in 2025 and is projected to exceed 1,500 this year.

Currently, the district operates with one full-time crew and one on-call crew. The growing volume means the district needs a second crew stationed in-house 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he asserts. Every crew also needs at least one paramedic who can deliver advanced life support rather than basic life support. Currently, the district employs four paramedics. Flaspohler said staffing two full on-site crews 24 hours a day, seven days a week would require eight paramedics.

The cost to maintain two full round-the-clock crews would require a significant rise in annual revenue.

Raising patient transport rates would not generate the needed funds, Flaspohler said, because approximately 75% of calls are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, which pay fixed government reimbursement rates substantially lower than the amount billed.

The proposed 1% sales tax is estimated to generate about $760,000. Under the plan, property taxes would be reduced by half that amount, roughly $380,000. The idea, Flaspohler explained, is to spread out the tax burden to visitors and college students, who don’t own property here. Some 20 districts around the state are asking for similar proposals this year.

Adding a 1% sales tax would push the sales tax rate past 10% for a large portion of Fayette. The current tax rate is already 9.22% inside the Community Improvement District (CID), which covers downtown, along with Casey’s, C&R Market, and Dollar General.

The following is the exact ballot language: “Shall the Howard County Ambulance District annually reduce the total property tax levy on properties within the District by imposing a sales tax of one percent for the purpose of providing revenues for the operation of the Howard County Ambulance District, with such property tax reduction to be determined annually in an amount equal to fifty percent of the previous year’s revenue collected from the sales tax, and be further authorized to impose a use tax in an amount equal to such sales tax provided that if the sales tax is reduced or raised by voter approval, the local use tax rate shall also be reduced or raised by the same action?”

The district has reported budget deficits in 2024 and 2025, largely due to increased salaries and benefits after beginning partial second-crew coverage and rising insurance costs. Voters approved a property tax hike in 2022 that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

Flaspohler also addressed the district’s recent purchase of nearby property for a future station expansion. The board wants to construct a new ambulance base on the corner of South Williams and Cooper streets, about two blocks south of the current location. However, the district needs a zoning approval from the city council.