The Andrew County Ambulance District is seeking voter assistance this August to change its method of financing. The district is asking for voter approval of a half-cent sales tax in exchange for a property tax reduction.

The current property tax of 26 cents per $100 of assessed valuation provides only 42 percent of the district’s annual budget of $1.2 million. Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement provides a majority of the total billing revenue.

Reimbursement changes in the two federal programs left a $125,000 shortfall last year, said Vicki Gross, the district director.

Increases in expenses are another problem. It now costs more than $100,000 to buy a new ambulance, and each one has to be replaced every three or four years, Ms. Gross said. And medical supplies and equipment costs have increased by 400 percent, she said.

Absorbing increased costs and the reimbursement changes could force a reduction in services, said Tracy Stroud, board president.

The ambulance board promises to lower the property tax rate by at least 50 percent of the amount collected from the sales tax.

The district was created in 1988. Operating from a station in Savannah with 11 full-time and 18 part-time employees, the district maintains four ambulances and a first-response vehicle to handle an average of 1,700 calls a year.

The vote on Aug. 5 requires a simple majority.

Marshall White can be reached

at marshall@npgco.com.