By Warren Dillaway
Star Beacon
ROME, Ohio — As signatures are sought to place a constitutional amendment on the state ballot to do away with property tax, area ambulance districts are wondering how they will be funded if it passes.
It has been 50 years since South Central Ambulance District and Nortwest Ambulance District were founded, two of the first in the state. They were later joined by the Jefferson Emergency Rescue District.
| MORE: The data is in. The debate is over. The check is still short.
The districts have been successful in passing levies to provide services for many communities throughout the county.
NAD presently serves Geneva, Geneva-on-the-Lake and Harpersfield and Geneva townships, while SCAD serves the south-central and southwestern portions of the county.
Many of the communities are rural, and have a lengthy ride to an emergency room in Ashtabula, Geneva, Chardon or even Pennsylvania.
NAD Executive Director Vince Gildone said the district receives about $600,000 in billings annually, but the vast amount of the budget comes from property tax revenue.
Gildone and SCAD Executive Director Shaun Buehner said there would be a potential 70% loss of budget if property tax were to go away completely.
“Loss of property tax would be devastating,” Gildone said. “We have to pay our people.”
There have been some adjustments made to property tax that go into effect this year.
Some legislators have suggested sales tax replace property tax revenue, but raising sales tax in the county by a vote has not been successful.
In addition to the potential reduction in revenue, SCAD had an all-time high number of calls in 2025. Gildone said the NAD board had to approve increase in employees to meet the demand.
The district administrators have to keep up with escalating costs, as an ambulance increased from $186,000 in 2017 to $336,000 today.
Gildone and Buehner said the cost doesn’t include needed equipment, and the delivery time for a new ambulance is about three years.
One of the reasons for an increase in ambulance need is people now call for a transport to the hospital that might not have been considered a reason to call 911 in years past.
“They [area residents] feel they have a God-given right for a ride to the hospital,” Gildone said.
He said the amount of two calls in the same hour has risen dramatically, putting a strain on the employees and equipment.
Buehner said SCAD has had a lot of mutual aid calls in the last year, including many calls to the southeast part of the county, which is presently dealing with a shortage of ambulance service to the area.
SCAD calls have risen from 1652 in 2018 to 2,025 in 2025, he said.
NAD handled 2,402 calls in 2025, Gildone said. That was down 55 from 2024, but calls for everything but overdoses went up.
Gildone said he would like to see an exemption for safety services from any attempt to get rid of property tax as a funding mechanism.
“We are paying our bills, but we are one levy away [from disaster],” he said.
Gildone and Buehner said the communities have supported the property tax levies and hope legislators — and voters — allow the system to continue.
Gildone added there needs to be revision in reimbursement rates for Medicaid, to at least equal what is paid by Medicare.
He added ambulance services get edited out of tax revenue when tax rebates are provided to some entities.
Jake Rice , executive director of the JERD, is concerned about property tax revenue going away.
“There is a concern that if the taxes go away where does our funding come from,” he said.
The possibility of increased sales tax is not a sure thing, Rice said.
“Unfortunately all we can do is wait and see what happens, but I think votes need to realize what all is paid for our of property taxes,” he said. “As a property tax payer myself, I fully understand and agree we need some sort of reform as most cannot continue to pay more and more every year.
“My hope is that no matter the answer is there is no lapse in emergency services for any residents, and we can all continue to function and grow. Our district along this past year had an increase of 15.5% in emergency runs. We cannot provide the level of service with less peoople and equipment if funds decrease or cease,” he said.
© 2026 the Star Beacon (Ashtabula, Ohio).
Visit www.starbeacon.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
