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County, city to explore EMS tax district

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

and JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Fayette County and the city of Peachtree City will look at options for centralizing EMS service in the county.

During last week’s County Commission meeting, the commissioners unanimously voted to send a letter to Peachtree City asking for a meeting between the staffs of the two governments.

The topic of the meeting would be Peachtree City’s request to set up a special tax district in Peachtree City to pay for EMS service.

“I think this is a good way for us to explore our options,” said Commissioner Linda Wells.

Commission Chairman Greg Dunn emphasized the meeting would involve only the two staffs from Peachtree City and Fayette County, without politicians looking over their shoulders.

“Hopefully, this will help us discover the real cost,” Dunn added.

He also said that a special tax district would impact every resident in the county, not just Peachtree City residents.

“We have no problem with them sending us some numbers,” said Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown. “And we can certainly send them our numbers.”

But, Brown added, the City Council thinks the best way to tackle the issue is to create a separate tax district so no Peachtree City residents are taxed for EMS services they don’t receive from the county.

The city has performed an analysis of the figures and determined that city residents are taxed “in the neighborhood of $250,000” for EMS services that the county doesn’t provide. The Peachtree City Fire and Rescue Department responds to EMS calls within the city limits.

“We receive absolutely no service (from the county) in that category,” Brown said.

A special tax district is used to keep Peachtree City residents from paying tax to operate the Fayette County Fire Department, and a similar situation could be set up for EMS uses, Brown said.

Brown said the county uses EMS funds to cross-train firefighters so they can handle EMS duties, and he argued Peachtree City residents shouldn’t pay for that because they don’t receive the corresponding services.

“They’re not providing those services in Peachtree City so we shouldn’t be charged for it,” Brown said.