VIENNA — During the April 7 municipal election, residents in the Maries Osage Ambulance District will soon vote on whether to approve a 0.5 percent (half cent) sales tax increase for a total of 1 percent (1 cent) to provide more funding.

The district held meetings the evenings of March 23-25 in Freeburg, Meta and Vienna to inform the community about the ballot measure.

Since 1978, the Vienna Ambulance Service (now known as MOAD) has provided emergency medical care to visitors and residents in the area. The district has not asked for a tax increase since its inception 48 years ago.

The current sales tax of 0.5 percent does not apply to online retail purchases. The ballot measure adds a use tax equal to the sales tax to online purchases delivered within the district. A use tax is a tax applied to goods purchased outside of the district boundaries for use inside. This tax of 1 percent only applies to goods purchased online outside the district and delivered inside.

Administrator Carla Butler said that this tax increase is necessary because of the rising costs of medical supplies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry saw a significant increase that she said is just now starting to normalize.

Furthermore, the district needs money to fund payroll.

For example, the district has four trucks, ranging from 1990 to 2019, most with over 100,000 miles. They recently ordered two more trucks for $220,000 each, and they must pay more money to equip the trucks.

According to EMT Clayton Bruno, most pieces of equipment are tens of thousands of dollars such as a $30,000 power load system or a $60,000 monitor. Because first responders often enter extreme conditions such as snow, tornadoes, hail, high winds or off-road situations, the equipment wears out quickly.

“Your grandma driving to the store when it snows, and she wrecks, we’re getting her out of her car when it’s negative 10 degrees outside. It’s hard on our equipment. It’s hard on the batteries,” Bruno said. “We don’t get an option like, ‘No, hold on. We’re going to wait until weather is better.’”

For payroll, the district paid $502,000 in wages last year and expects to pay $556,000 this year. Employees receive an extra $4 per hour on weekends but no benefits like health insurance. Butler would like to offer benefits and make pay more competitive during the week, preventing turnover to larger districts that pay more.

“And the people that work here truly work here because their hearts (are) here. So we’re struggling getting people to come here because there’s nothing here to keep people here,” Butler said.

The ambulance district operates and is funded separately from the Maries County Emergency Services Board. While the board takes 911 calls and dispatches the appropriate entity such as the ambulance district, the police department or the fire department, each is its own distinct entity with its own funding. Therefore, the newly approved sales tax for the MCESB does not fund the ambulance district’s operations.

Craig Wilson lives in Cole County and works for their Emergency Medical Services. He is a paramedic for Maries-Osage Ambulance District as a second job because he cares about the community. Wilson enjoys the community outreach aspect of his job, such as attending public relations events, fairs and festivals.

“Our desire is to not just provide excellent patient care but excellent community care,” he said. “We’re dedicated to this district and to its citizens. That’s why we’re here.”

At times, the district keeps two trucks staffed to respond to emergency needs. But if funds fall short, they may need to downsize to only one truck, forcing them to call in services from neighboring districts for mutual aid. This increases response times because the first responders are traveling farther distances.

Butler encourages citizens thinking about voting no to consider the drawbacks of this measure not passing.

“If you want an ambulance to come to your house and your loved one’s house, I would think twice about it,” Butler said. “If we’re out of service, taking somebody else to the hospital, you’re liable to getting a surrounding district, and the response time is going to be 30, 40, 50 minutes, and if you could support us by buying a soda and giving us an extra penny, is it really worth that penny to vote no?”