ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — The St. Charles County Ambulance District (SCADD) is asking voters to consider a sales tax proposal aimed at changing how the district is funded, First Alert 4 reported.
Proposition Paramedics, which will appear on the November ballot, would establish a 0.375% sales tax while reducing the real estate and personal property taxes collected by the district.
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SCCAD spokesperson Kyle Gaines said the sales tax would amount to about 2 cents on a $5 purchase.
SCCAD currently has 10 paramedic positions unfilled. Gaines said the district plans to reduce staffing by another eight paramedics in 2027 if the proposition fails, even as call volume continues to increase.
“As the call volume grows, we’ve traditionally added more stations, more paramedics and more ambulances so we can keep the response time targets nice and short for everybody,” Gaines said. “If we aren’t able to grow the team as the call volume grows, that’s what puts us in a problematic state.”
If voters approve the measure, SCCAD would also end balance billing, meaning residents would not be responsible for ambulance charges left unpaid by their insurance.
