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HARRISVILLE - Alcona County voters on Tuesday renewed a property tax proposal that pays for about half of the county’s ambulance service.
The 1.2095-mill renewal for Alcona County Emergency Medical Services passed 4,032 to 1,743, or 69.82% in favor, according to unofficial results from the Alcona County Clerk’s office. Results were certified by the county board of canvassers on Wednesday.
The renewal runs four years, from 2026 through 2029, and is estimated to raise $1,268,292.40 in its first year, according to the ballot language.
Because it is a renewal, property owners who already pay the millage will see no change in their tax bills. A mill is $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value. At the full rate, the owner of a property with a taxable value of $100,000 pays about $120.95 a year toward the service.
Scott Rice, director and emergency coordinator for Alcona County EMS, said in an interview before the election that the tax covers both daily operations and equipment.
“The millage provides funding for the purpose of purchasing equipment, ambulances, ambulance and building maintenance, operating and maintaining Alcona County Emergency Medical Services,” Rice said.
“The millage funds 50% of our operating expenditures,” he said.
Rice said before the vote that the money allows the service to keep its current level of care, including two advanced life support ambulances staffed by paramedics.
Without the renewal, he said, patients would have faced longer waits for help.
“This would also result in delayed response times from neighboring ALS agencies, reduced staffing, and delays in purchasing new equipment,” Rice said before the election.
Advanced life support, or ALS, ambulances carry paramedics who can give medications and provide emergency treatment beyond what a basic ambulance crew offers.
The ballot asked whether the tax limitation should be renewed “by an amount not to exceed 1.2095 mills ($1.2095 per $1,000.00 of taxable value) on all properties in Alcona County for a period of four years (2026-2029).”
The renewal keeps the tax in place through the 2029 levy.