Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Community leaders throughout the Florida Keys soon will decide who will pay a new tax to fund the Trauma Star helicopter, which will determine how and how much residents will be charged. But they cannot make a decision, they said, until they receive more information.

The Monroe County Commission today is expected to vote on resolutions to invite Marathon, Layton, Key Colony Beach, Islamorada and the Key Largo Fire Rescue Emergency Medical Services District into special tax districts that would fund the $3.2 million rescue helicopter program.

Each municipality must decide whether it will give Monroe County the jurisdiction it legally needs to create municipal services taxing units to fund Trauma Star.

Some 19,000 voters elected to keep Trauma Star, but the Nov. 4 non-binding referendum was not clear on how the funding will be allocated. To fund Trauma Star, the county has proposed levying a 15-cent tax per $1,000 assessed value of homes south of Mile Marker 95, and 7.5 cents for those north of that. Property owners in the former would pay about $52 a year and those in the latter would pay about $27.

The tax would be less for Upper Keys residents because they already are part of the Upper Keys Health Care Taxing District, a special health-care taxing entity that is the payer of last resort for patients evacuated by the Miami-Dade Air Rescue to Ryder Trauma Center and Miami Children's Hospital.

Officials arrived at those figures based on current property values, which were plugged into an equation that would yield the funding needed to keep the program in operation, said Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi.

But those figures are speculative, because if some communities opt out of the program, other residents in other communities could be forced to pay more, Gastesi said.

"Also remember that those figures were based on current values of those properties," Gastesi said.

He added that the current devaluation of property because of the national economic downtown could also affect those figures and how much residents will pay.

Just how much residents will pay and who will pay remains to be seen as town officials said Tuesday that much remains to be discussed.

Opting out

The most vocal opposition to the Trauma Star referendum came from the Upper Keys, where officials with the Key Largo Fire & Rescue Emergency Medical Services District argued that Trauma Star creates a duplication in services.

"They want to tax us to pay for a helicopter to hang around waiting for calls when we already have helicopters available to us that we're not taxed on," District Commissioner Tom Tharp said. "Why would we want to be taxed on another helicopter?"

Tharp said Monroe County residents don't need Trauma Star because there already are three such air ambulances operating in the Keys: Miami-Dade Air Rescue and LifeNet choppers based in Miami and at Lower Keys Medical Center on Stock Island.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office, which operates Trauma Star, argued that private companies are more interested in making a profit than providing dependable emergency air transport. LifeNet officials called those concerns unfounded and said they are willing to take more emergency response calls.

The issue of fairness also arose before the election as some residents could end up paying more taxes and others none at all for a service that will be available to all.

"We already have three helicopters in the Keys," Tharp said. "If you want to tax me because you're not satisfied with those three, that's not fair to me. Why should I pay for something I don't need?"

Turbulence ahead?

Islamorada Mayor Cathi Hill said the Village Council was split on whether it should opt in or out of the tax. Most voters in Islamorada voted against the Trauma Star referendum.

"But some members did support it," Hill said. "There needs to be a dialogue and discussion and we'll be reaching out to the community for more input before we make a decision. Although voters rejected it here, it wasn't soundly rejected."

Hill said she wasn't sure what will happen next, but added that towns need "unbiased facts" on how the special tax districts will affect all county residents.

"It's a quandary for us," said Layton Mayor Norman Anderson. "We're kind of in the middle."

Anderson said Layton officials are unsure how the tax would work and are not moving to make any decisions until they get more input from the county.

Same goes for Marathon. Vice Mayor Don Vasil said the city's voters supported the referendum in November, but added, "That's just my 2 cents worth.

"The constituents have talked with me and said they feel it's a great service; however, we're getting mixed signals about the expense," Vasil said. "Personally, I want to hear some good arguments about how this is going to work before I make any kind of decision."

The Key West City Commission has yet to have a discussion on the matter, but Mayor Morgan McPherson said he wants input from the police chief, fire chief, doctors and paramedics before making any decision about opting in or out of the tax.

"I think everyone is waiting for professional input on how we can best put people first," McPherson said. "Ultimately this is not about taxes or saving a program, it's about safety and having the protocols in place that ensures each patient is afforded the best possible service. And we need to hear from our professionals in order to make a good decision."

alinhardt@keysnews.com