TUSCOLA - Douglas County will ask voters Nov. 4 whether to increase taxes to put more ambulances on the roads.

The referendum, which will appear on the presidential election ballot, aims to increase the county sales tax so the county can hire two additional ambulances from private contractors. Currently, the county has two ambulances stationed at fire departments and two contracted ambulances.

County clerk Jim Ingram said the proposal should increase revenue by about $650,000 annually, though Ingram said this could be less if the economy worsens.

Ingram said he hopes the measure will pass and that it is the fairest way of increasing revenues for an essential service. Ingram said estimates are saying as much as 60 percent of the tax would be paid by visitors to the county who buy merchandise and pay the sales tax.

"This is the best thing for everybody in the county," Ingram said. "It's the fairest way of raising a tax, and it doesn't tax your income or your ground or your home; it taxes certain areas of your spending power."

County Board Chairman Chuck Knox said ambulances are one service citizens are guaranteed to benefit from at some point.

"You may occasionally see the jail as you drive by, but most of us will never walk through its doors," Knox said. "But you can rest assured that sometime in your life, you will need an ambulance."

Tuscola Mayor Dan Kleiss said he hopes Douglas County residents approve the referendum.

"Ambulance service is one of our most pressing public safety needs in Douglas County," Kleiss said. "Most of us live just too far away from emergency medical care."

If voters approve the measure, the various jurisdictions involved in the agreement will approve new ambulance contracts by bid. Expanded service would begin next October, according to Drew Hoel, Tuscola city administrator.

Another decision Douglas County residents will get to voice on their ballot will be whether Oakland Fire Protection District will elect its board of trustees, rather than appoint them.

Board members currently are appointed.

klowe@herald-review.com|421-7985