By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – During their weekly business meeting on Thursday, the Hill County Commissioners unanimously approved the placement of a resolution on the November ballot that would provide funding for ambulance services outside of Havre city limits.
The resolution will ask all Hill County voters not residing in Havre city limits to approve an eight mill levy.
An eight mill levy amounts to an increase in annual property taxes of $10.87 on a home with a market value of $100,000.
The mills are subject to inflation.
Funds from six of the mills would go to the Havre Fire Department, while funds from the other two mills would go to the Rudyard Ambulance Service.
Discussions on creating an ambulance district began after Havre Mayor Tim Solomon sent a letter to the Hill County Commissioners earlier this year arguing the county wasn’t paying their fair share for Havre’s ambulance service calls outside of city limits.
Havre Mayor Tim Solomon has argued that despite 28 percent of Havre Fire Department ambulance calls coming outside of city limits in fiscal year 2019, the county only paid 5 percent of the subsidy.
The initial county-wide ambulance district proposal would have requested a total of 16.33 mills, but the County Commissioners said feedback they had received from rural residents indicated they were strongly opposed to the measure, leading to a resolution that would keep the same boundaries for Rudyard Ambulance Service and the Havre Fire Department.
If the measure is not approved, officials worry that ambulance services for Hill County residents in the Havre Fire Department’s coverage area would be cut off due to a lack of funding.
