Town hall meeting held at Centerton

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

CENTERTON -- Benton County Judge Bob Clinard said Thursday the county's rural ambulance service doesn't hinge on questions of fairness, but on following the law.

"I have heard a lot of questions about 'Is it fair?' during these meetings," Clinard said."It's not fair. There's a whole lot of things in life when it comes to government that aren't fair."

"It's the law and we all took an oath to uphold the law," Clinard said, including county and city officials who have been involved in the negotiation over ambulance service. "It's not as simple as some folks would like it to be. This was the lesser of four evils."

Clinard spoke to more than 30 people at the Centerton Fire Department in a meeting organized by justices of the peace to offer information about the Feb. 11 election on the plan to pay for rural ambulance service.

Susan Anglin, justice of the peace for district 9, hosted the meeting. Clinard attended along with justices of the peace Barry Moehring, Shirley Sandlin, Pat Adams and Brent Meyers.

Moehring also said it wasn't a simple issue that could be resolved with an appeal to fairness. He cited the cost involved in Bentonville's decision to build a fire station, to staff and equip the station and the decision to use city tax money to do so. Sending that ambulance outside the city will incur additional costs, he pointed out.

"They own the ambulances," Moehring said of Bentonville. "They have paid for them. If we want to use them, we have to pay for it too."

Moehring said arguing county residents pay city taxes can't negate the costs or the city services and amenities that are also available to rural residents, including parks and schools. City residents pay generally higher taxes and fees to make those services available.

"There are trade-offs," he said. "It's not a fairness issue. City sales taxes are higher. Property taxes are higher and there are other fees."

The Quorum Court in September created the district for households outside cities and not in the Northeast Benton County Emergency Medical Service District. The $85 fee would pay the cost to make ambulance service available and would be included on property tax statements.

Much of the discussion centered on alternatives to the proposed fee, including budget cuts and countywide sales tax or property tax increases. Moehring said the Quorum Court weighed those options and chose to adopt the district and fee. If the plan is voted down, he said, the justices of the peace will have to consider what else may be done.

"If this gets voted down, I think we're going to need a lot more ideas on the table," he said.

General News on 02/05/2014