CUTHBERT, Ga. (WALB) – In tax year 2024, property owners in Randolph County can expect to pay more money to fund emergency services due to longer distances ambulances will have to travel.

Due to rising EMS fees, Randolph County residents are now paying three times what they normally would.

“I just found out about the last meeting, which kind of surprised me, but we’re still short on money and we still need to raise about $300,000 just to get this done,” said County Commissioner Henry Davenport.

The cost of emergency care in the county is about $1.3 million annually. According to the commission, the county had to increase the amount per property to offset the costs associated with the lack of a functioning hospital nearby.

“Those costs are going to go up again next year by at least 3%. So we’re looking at the landowners and imposing that levy to reduce or mitigate the costs. Our prayer is that once we reopen our hospital, that levy will go down to alleviate some of that burden,” Davenport said.

The main burden of this development is borne by landowners who own large plots of land.

Meet Phil Moshell. He owns hundreds of acres of land, but because of the way his property is managed, there is another landowner who subdivides his acres – Moshell has to pay per plot, which drives his costs into the thousands.

“This block down here, where the dam is at Phillips Pond, does not border the land across the street because the land in between is owned by cousins,” Moshell said.

“So you are basically being charged a higher rate because your land is not next to each other?”

“That’s true,” Moshell said. “Our mileage allowance went up this year. The mileage allowance alone cost me an extra $1,200, the EMS allowance increased my tax bill by $1,800, so my total tax bill is almost $3,000 higher than last year.”

If you are a landowner with more than one property, you currently have to pay this levy multiplied by the number of properties or parcels you own. However, according to Commissioner Davenport, there is a solution for the next fiscal year.

“Our tax assessor has created an opportunity where if they gather their records of the various properties and come to his office, they can consolidate them so there is only one fee,” Davenport said.

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