City of Buchanan to re-establish special assessment district to fund ambulance services

 

BUCHANAN, Mich.-- The City of Buchanan is working to re-establish a special assessment district to pay for Southwest Michigan Community Ambulance Services (SMCAS) to the city.

"It's the same assessment that has been on their taxes since 1992," said City Manager Timothy Lynch.

To be clear, this did go away last year.

"There was a lapse in the last year, there were some changes over at SMACS, the ambulance service," Lynch said.

Therefore, the city had to foot last year's bill.

"We fronted the full cost through our general fund, which is still the people's money," Lynch said. "It was about $80,000."

Now, the Buchanan City Commission is looking to re-establish the special assessment district and defray the cost of ambulance service to the people, something Lynch and leaders at SMCAS say is common.

"About 22 percent of the funding that supports this ambulance service comes from contributions from the communities that are usually collected in an assessment," said Brian Scribner, SMCAS executive director. "We've been serving the Buchanan area since 1976."

The special assessment district would last five years.

"The assessment is based on population, and it's per parcel," Lynch said.

Each parcel, whether a residential unit, business, industrial, or agricultural parcel, will be charged $40 the first year, and that fee will gradually increase to $50.

Overall, Lynch said, it's a price well worth ambulance service.

"The people have made it clear that they want an ambulance service for when their loved ones have something happen to them," Lynch said. "They make the call, and the ambulance service comes."

There is a special City Commission meeting next week with a public hearing over this issue. It will be Monday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m. at Buchanan City Hall.

The meeting notice can be found here.