Not apathetic... BUSY! This burden does NOT belong on the shoulders of rural residents ONLY!!!! Rural residents have nothing to do with ALL the people traveling on rural roads!!! Rural residents have NOTHING to do with the EXPONENTIAL increase in ambulance costs!!! Instead of setting up Town Hall Meetings, consider letters explaining the options, encourage a Facebook discussion or join existing gatherings like church groups, POA meetings, etc. Folks have conflicts, we have our schedules packed full! Many rural are elderly & dont get out at night. Putting this expense on the backs of rural residents ALONE is unconscionable & should not even be on the table. BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials said Monday they are concerned by the lack of response to the town hall meetings the county has held on the rural ambulance revenue plans set for a vote Nov. 4. While some of the early meetings drew sparse crowds, meetings held Thursday in Bentonville and Rogers and Saturday in Bentonville and in Lowell failed to attract crowds. Meeting Information Town Halls Benton County’s justices of the peace are hosting town hall meetings to provide information on the two ballot issues that would pay for rural ambulance service. • 6 p.m. today — Riordan Main Hall, 3 Riordan Drive, Bella Vista • 7 p.m. today — Prairie Creek Community Center, 14432 East Arkansas 12, Rogers • 6:30 p.m. Wednesday — Northeast Benton County Fire Department Station 1, 14639 Wimpy Jones Road, Garfield • 6 p.m. Friday — Gravette Civic Center, 401 Charlotte St. SW • 6:30 p.m. Oct. 30 — Centerton City Hall, Community Room, 290 Main St. Source: Benton County Thursday night in Bentonville, we had zero, said County Judge Bob Clinard on Monday. Thursday night in Rogers, we had one person show up. Then Saturday, we had two meetings, one in Bentonville and one in Lowell, and not one constituent attended either meeting. Clinard said hes uncertain what the lack of response means for the countys plans to pay for rural ambulance service. I think the county, the JPs and myself, weve all made the case for the fact that, if we dont find another source of revenue for EMS and the JPs decide its going to be funded, were going to have to cut other services, Clinard said. I dont know where those cuts are going to come from. Were cut to the bone. Voters have been asked to consider two plans to pay part of the cost of ambulance service in unincorporated areas. The county will pay about $942,000 this year to the cities providing ambulance service. One proposal would levy 0.2 mills to raise an estimated $834,000 annually. The tax would apply to all residents. All residents can vote on the millage question. The second proposal involves creation of an emergency medical services district with a $40 fee. The fee would raise about $528,000 a year. The district would include the unincorporated areas of the county, except the area served by the Northeast Benton County Fire Department. Only residents in the proposed district can vote on the plan to form the district and levy the annual fee. Brent Meyers, justice of the peace for District 14, said his first town hall meeting, held Oct. 13 in Lowell, drew about 20 people. Saturdays session saw Meyers in attendance along with Clinard, a county information technology employee, Lowell Mayor Eldon Long and Mike Morris, the citys fire chief. I cant even venture to guess why, Meyers said. Im severely disappointed. Barry Moehring, justice of the peace for District 15, hosted the Thursday town hall meeting in Bentonville at which he and other county officials waited a full 30 minutes before calling off the presentation. Moehring also said he doesnt know what to make of the sparse turnout. Im a little perplexed that theres no more interest being shown, he said. Im not sure its accurate to say theres a lack of interest in the issue. There might just be a lack of interest in attending town hall meetings on the issue. Moehring said he thinks the county could benefit from having someone directly responsible for public information and communication. He said theres no one working for Benton County now who fills that role. I do believe that if we had a public information function, not necessarily a public information officer but someone whose job it was to handle public information, we wouldve been able to generate more interest in the issue, he said. Thats not anybodys job at the county right now. I dont want to see a position at the county just have that added on to it. It shouldnt be somebodys hobby. It should be someones actual job function. Joel Jones, justice of the peace for District 7, is hosting tonights town hall meeting in Bella Vista, set for 6 p.m. at Riordan Hall. Jones said hes concerned city residents dont fully understand the millage proposal, which is the only measure on which they will vote. Im concerned that they will look at it and say its a county issue that doesnt concern them, Jones said. Jones said hes satisfied justices of the peace have done what they can to raise awareness of the issue and the election. Beyond going door-to-door, I dont know that theres anything more we could have done, he said. The level of interest does concern me. Thats what weve been trying to fight. Weve been posting on Facebook. Theres been articles in the newspaper. Its been on Twitter. The university has done the handouts on it. Weve done the town hall meetings. I think its a PR problem. Ive talked with a group in a subdivision in the unincorporated area, and theyre aware of it. Theyre concerned about having the service. People in the cities may think its a county issue that doesnt concern them. Tom Allen, justice of the peace for District 4 and chairman of the countys Finance Committee, said hes concerned county residents, both rural and urban, arent taking the issue as seriously as they should. Allen warned other county services will have to be cut if the revenue plans are defeated. About a year from now, if the funding plans are defeated, theyre going to notice when we have had to cut services, whether its in the Road Department, the Sheriffs Office or just across-the-board cuts, Allen said. Its going to affect things like veterans services, the assessor, collector or county clerks offices, things people take for granted when they need it.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 12:48:03 +0000