Dale County Commission OKs $25,000 for Daleville Rescue

The Daleville Rescue Squad will receive a $25,000 appropriation after a unanimous vote of the Dale County Commission at the commission meeting April 26.

The appropriation request by Dale County Commissioner Donald Grantham had been tabled at the April 12 meeting because no representative from the city of Daleville was at the meeting to answer Commissioner Frankie Wilson’s question about whether the squad had reached out to the city council first for an appropriation.

The county’s appropriation is the third such approved by the commission to provide financial assistance to local emergency medical service providers in Dale County.

The commission approved a $25,000 appropriation to South Dale Emergency Medical Service after a unanimous vote at the commission meeting Feb. 8. The appropriation was made at the request of Dale County Commissioner Charles “Chic” Gary in a motion seconded by Wilson.

Wilson had made the request to give a $25,000 appropriation to the Echo EMS at the commission meeting Jan. 25. At that meeting Wilson had noted that the Echo EMS is not located in a town or city limit or incorporated area. “They receive no subsidy from any governmental agency like some EMS services do—and should,” Wilson said in making his request.

In 2018 the citizens of Dale County voted in favor of what has come to be known as “the tag tax,” initiated to generate funding for emergency medical services in the county. Voter approval of Act 239 in November 2018 allowed a $5 tag transaction fee earmarked to fund EMS organizations in Dale County.

Three percent of the proceeds from the $5 fee for each motor vehicle collected is retained by the Dale County Revenue Commissioner’s office to cover administrative costs and the remainder given to the Dale County Commission to be distributed quarterly to municipalities and emergency medical service organizations for EMS organizations.

The special appropriations to Echo, South Dale and Daleville EMSs are in addition to the quarterly tag tax funds received.

The next meeting of the Dale County Commission is May 10 in the county government building in Ozark. A work session begins at 10 a.m. and is followed immediately by a voting meeting. Both meetings are open to the public.