Trending
ELKINS – The Randolph County Commission approved the second and final reading of the Special Emergency Ambulance Service Fee Ordinance during its most recent meeting.
Commission President David Kelsing and fellow Commissioner Kenna Barger were present at the meeting and voted in favor of the ordinance, which will go into effect on the first day of December. Commissioner Cris Siler was not present for the meeting.
Kesling said the Commission was pushing the starting date or the Service Fee Ordinance back a couple of months, so that businesses would have time to learn more about it.
“We will have the rest of October and November for learning, questioning and answering sessions before we put it in effect on Dec. 1,” Kesling said. “If it goes into effect on Dec. 1, the fee will be collected in December and the first payment wouldn’t be due to us until Jan. 20.”
Kesling said all the details of the Service Fee Ordinance will be available on the County Commissions’ website or at the RCC office. He added that the Commission is also planning to attend a function hosted by the Randolph County Chamber later this month where they will be available to answer any questions.
“We are trying to get more education out this time around to the businesses that will be collecting the fee for us and turning it in,” Kesling said. “I know the Chamber and the newspaper will be sharing information for us about the ordinance. We just want to get as much communication out there as we can.”
Earlier this year, the County Commission adopted a Special Emergency Ambulance Service Fee Ordinance that was suspended just after it began, after the state Tax Department informed the Commission that the fee violated the streamlined sales tax agreement.
The Randolph County Commission then approved an excess levy to replace the Service Fee Ordinance. The levy was slated to be on the General Election ballot in November.
In September, the RCC rescinded the excess levy vote for the Randolph County Ambulance Authority because it had learned from its attorneys that it could change the ordinance to a basic flat transaction fee.
The original fee had adopted to help fund the Randolph County Emergency Squad, who announced in March that it was facing a $1 million budget shortfall.
“We talked about this (ordinance) at two other meetings,” Kesling said. “We then took it back to the EMS Board of Directors, and there were a couple questions that came up and we took it back to our lawyers in Charleston, our tax attorneys.”
Kesling said the Commission’s attorneys made some changes that were suggested by the EMS Board, having to do with exemptions.
Barger talked about the ordinance and its exemptions, saying, “The fee shall be a flat fee of 10 cents imposed on, one, all transactions involving the purchase and sale by any person or entity of tangible personal property, which transaction takes place within Randolph County. Two, all transactions and the purchase and sale by any person or entity of services which are rendered within Randolph County, unless the purchase is in sale of tangible personal property or services, are exempt under article two of this ordinance.”
Barger then went into detail about the fee’s exemptions.
The occasional or casual sales of tangible personal property or services are exempt – for example, sales at a yard sale. However, sales that are occurring regularly, like at a flea market, are not exempt.
The purchase and sale of prescription medicines are exempt, as is the purchase and sale of healthcare services, including clinically related preventive diagnostic treatment or rehabilitative services, which are provided or prescribed by a medical or osteopathic physician, nurse, physician’s assistant, paramedic, dentist, psychologist, or other persons providing such services. Elective or cosmetic procedures or services are not exempt.
Banking services and the sale of food and novelty items directly from vending machines are exempt, along with the purchase and sale of gasoline, diesel and other motor fuel.
“If we see that this ordinance is bringing in more than what we need, the County Commission can go back and change the ordinance to lower the 10 cents down,” Kesling said. “Because we don’t want an abundance of money, we just want enough to make the payroll for the EMS. We had to do something if we want to continue to have ambulance services in Randolph County.”
The Randolph County Commission’s next meeting will be Oct. 15 at the Commission Annex.