ELKINS – The Randolph County Commission approved changes to the Special Emergency Ambulance Service Fee Ordinance during Thursday’s regular meeting at the Commission Annex.

The Commission voted in favor of the Service Fee Ordinance during a meeting in April and Kesling said the RCC was making some changes after receiving some feedback from the community, despite the fee being well publicized before it was enacted.

“When we voted on the fee we had no public comment on it and I knew there would be public comment on it because it’s a big thing,” Kesling said. “People started paying attention to it after we enacted it and after we sent letters to the businesses. Once they got the letters, then they paid attention…We needed feedback and we weren’t getting feedback because no one had come to the meetings about ordinance.”

Kesling said that in the ordinance it states that it may be amended from time-to-time by the majority members of the Randolph County Commission as deemed necessary and appropriate.

“After listening to people in the community, businesses, and just regular citizens, about the ordinance, we are going to make some changes,” Kesling said. “I am glad that we received some feedback from people about it.”

Kesling announced that the Commission was making three changes to the ordinance with the first having to do with the due date collections for businesses.

“We had in the ordinance that collections would be due on the fifth of each month,” Kesling said. “We are removing the due date from the fifth and moving it to the 20th of the month, which should help some businesses because they wouldn’t have to go to the accountant and have them pay the fifth to us and then go back and pay on the 20th to the state (taxes). That way it is all done at one time.”

The second change in the ordinance will give businesses the option to pay the fee either monthly or quarterly.

“There are businesses who pay their state taxes either monthly or quarterly, so we are going to allow in the ordinance where payment of collected fees can be made either monthly or quarterly to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office,” Kesling said. “So all they have to do is let us know when they want to pay.”

The third and final change has to do with the County Commission adding a line under the exemptions part of the ordinance.

“That part of the ordinance will state that any single item purchased for a purchase price that exceeds $10,000 is exempt from payment of any fee under this ordinance,” Kesling said. “We are aiming toward big ticket items like cars and machinery. People will not have to pay that fee when they buy those kinds of items.”

Kesling said he knew there would be both pros and cons with the new Ambulance Fee Ordinance.

“We specifically put in the ordinance that by majority vote that we can change it,” Kesling said. “So we are making those three changes effective today.”

The next regular Randolph County Commission meeting will be held on May 28 at 1:30 p.m.