ELKINS – The Randolph County Commission unanimously voted to suspend the Special Emergency Ambulance Service Fee Ordinance during its most recent meeting.   

Commission President David Kesling said the West Virginia State Tax Department recently expressed their objections to the ordinance, which officially went into effect on Wednesday. The Commission approved the ordinance in April.  

“Specifically, the State Tax Department informed us that the provisions of the ordinance imposing a service fee violate the streamlined sales tax agreement,” Kesling said at Thursday afternoon’s County Commission meeting. “Thus, jeopardizing West Virginia’s continued participation in that agreement. As a result, the state tax department would be required to bring a civil action against the County for collecting any revenue generated under the ordinance.”     

Kesling said the state tax commissioner agreed to not sue the county if it was to immediately suspend collection of the service fee.     

“Upon consultation with our counsel — we have a new counsel out of Charleston — we will be seeking an advisory opinion from the state attorney general whether that service fee, in some form or another, may still be imposed,” Kesling said. “Accordingly, I move that the commission suspend the service fee pursuant to their Special Emergency Ambulance Service Fee Ordinance effective immediately, and that notice of this action be sent to all businesses forthwith. I move that the Commission request our prosecuting attorney as our counsel to seek the advisory opinion from the state attorney general whether the service fee in its present or other form, may still be lawfully imposed.”   

In April, the Randolph County Commission approved the Special Emergency Ambulance Service Fee Ordinance during a regular meeting after a second and final reading.     

The ordinance was put in place to help fund the Randolph County Emergency Squad, which announced earlier in the year that it was facing a $1 million budget shortfall.      

The ordinance stated that the 6% West Virginia sales tax collected in the county would have a 0.4% fee collected for the Ambulance Service. The fees collected were to go through the Sheriff’s Office, and the funds would be held in an account called “The Randolph County EMS Fund.”

The funds were to be used by the Randolph County Ambulance Authority only for “reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred, like equipment, utilities, vehicles, vehicle maintenance and service.”

In May, the Randolph County Commission approved several changes to the ordinance after Kesling said he received feedback from the community. One of the changes had to do with the due date for collections from businesses. The Commission voted to change the due date from the fifth day of each month to the twentieth.

The change was made so that businesses could pay the fee at the same time as state taxes. With the second change, the County Commission added an exemption, wherein any item exceeding $10,000 was exempt from the fee.     

The next Randolph County Commission meeting will be July 15 at 1:30 p.m.