Butler County Today

State Representatives David Thomas and Thomas Hall have introduced House Bill 274, a legislative proposal aimed at ensuring emergency medical services (EMS) for Ohio residents. The bill seeks to encourage shared services among local governments to reduce taxpayer burdens.

Rep. Thomas highlighted the fiscal challenges faced by small governments in providing EMS services. "We are seeing small governments not able or willing to provide EMS services and instead relying on the taxpayers from other areas to foot the bill," he stated. "That’s not fiscally responsible or in the best interest of the community."

The proposed legislation mandates EMS service provision for townships, villages, and cities, similar to existing requirements for police and fire protection. It also offers grant incentives for entities that combine or formally share services to lower property tax costs.

Rep. Hall emphasized his commitment to addressing property taxes and enhancing public safety through this initiative. "This legislation covers two issues I’m especially committed to – addressing property taxes and increasing public safety," he said. "We need to get creative in addressing a growing concern, which is combining services for the betterment of the taxpayers. This bill does that."

The incentive includes a $100,000 grant or 50% of operations costs for the first year after merging first responder departments. Lawmakers believe this will help offset startup expenses and ultimately reduce taxpayer costs.

"Our taxpayers cannot continue to pay for the equipment, personnel, and structures in every entity for each of our counties," Rep. Thomas remarked. "Our goal is to meet that reality with an encouragement to broaden the base of taxpayers contributing to the costs of services."

The representatives view these efforts as part of broader property tax reform initiatives, responding to significant growth in property taxes over recent years.