By Jim Hannah
The Cincinnati Enquirer

ERLANGER - The owner of a $100,000 home in Kenton County could be asked to pay an additional $25 a year under a plan to expand paramedic service.

The estimated $1.7 million generated by the proposed tax would pay for six paramedics assigned to three cars stationed in central locations throughout the county.

One would be based in Covington and one in Edgewood, while another would cover the southern part of the county from Independence.

Because of cuts at the only company that offers paramedic services in the Kenton County, the county will soon be served by only three paramedics.

One will operate out of Covington; the other two will share one vehicle operating out of Edgewood. They serve 151,000 citizens over 163 square miles.

A special committee of the Kenton County Mayors' Group endorsed the proposed tax increase at a meeting Thursday in Erlanger.

The group will now begin an aggressive lobbying effort to generate support for the tax increase of 2.5 cents per $100 of assessed value. The goal is to get Kenton County Fiscal Court to place the proposal on the November ballot.

"This plan will be more cost-effective than each municipality trying to fund their own paramedics," said Erlanger Fire Chief Bill Martin.

Martin serves on the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services and is active in the local fire chiefs association.

Paramedic service is provided by TransCare, a nonprofit organization owned by St. Elizabeth and St. Luke hospitals.

TransCare, which receives no government funding for its service in Kenton County, relies solely on subscription drives.

By paying a yearly fee of $12 for an individual or $45 per family, people who require paramedic services are not required to cover the difference if their health insurer refuses to pay the entire cost of the service.

The subscription drive brought in less than $100,000 in 2002 and TransCare officials say the paramedic unit lost about $450,000 in Kenton County alone.

The subscriptions would be dropped if the proposed tax becomes a reality, Martin said.

E-mail jhannah@enquirer.com