By Cindy Schroeder
The Cincinnati Enquirer

CRESTVIEW HILLS - A special tax to provide paramedic service for all of Kenton County except Covington has the support of most Kenton County mayors.

TransCare, a nonprofit corporation owned by St. Elizabeth and St. Luke hospitals, responds to all life-threatening calls - known as advanced life support - in Kenton County. It receives no tax dollars and relies on subscription drives for funding. But TransCare recently said that it's losing money and can't continue providing paramedic service to the county's fire districts for free.

Even with Kenton County paying the first 25 percent, as proposed, the cost of paramedic service would still amount to thousands of dollars for participating cities, including many that can ill afford it, members of a countywide advanced life support committee said.

To remedy that, the Kenton County Mayors Group voted 12 to 0 Saturday to recommend that Kenton County Fiscal Court put a property tax of no less than 20 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation for advanced life support service on the November ballot.

"Nobody wants to pay more taxes, but this is one of those services that we, as a mobile society, can't afford to be without,'' said Fort Mitchell Tom Holocher, who heads the mayors group.

The mayor's group also endorsed TransCare's proposal to provide four paramedics in four cars for countywide coverage and recommended the creation of a special tax district for paramedic service that would include all of the county except Covington. The latter city recently announced plans to start its own paramedic service on Sept. 1.

Six Kenton County cities - Independence, Park Hills, Kenton Vale, Fairview, Bromley and Ryland Heights - did not have representatives at the meeting.

If the fiscal court agrees to put the tax on the November ballot, and a majority of voters approve it, the tax would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $20 a year and the owner of a $150,000 house $30 a year.

Without the special property tax, many Kenton County cities can't afford to offer advanced life support service, leaving some communities without coverage, said Fort Wright Administrator Larry Klein, who heads the countywide advanced life support committee. Unlike other emergency personnel, paramedics can administer drugs and use a manual defibrillator.

"You may live in a city that has coverage, but you may go to school or work in a city that doesn't offer advanced life support service,'' Klein said. "We don't want those kinds of holes in the system."

In April and May, representatives of the advanced life support committee and the mayors group will visit each city seeking resolutions of support for the proposed tax, Klein said.

Although the tax would take effect on Jan. 1, 2005, if approved by a majority of voters this fall, the proceeds would not be collected until the end of 2005. As a stopgap measure until the tax can be collected, TransCare is negotiating a one-year contract with the county to cover the cost of paramedic service, said Sam Grippa, president and CEO of TransCare.

Once the tax is collected, TransCare will discontinue subscription drives and "hard billing," which holds customers responsible for fees not covered by their insurance provider.

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E-mail cschroeder@enquirer.com