Well, Well, Well – Look What Fell Out of the Trees: After Years of Neglect, Landfill and EMS Fees Suddenly Matter

By Linda Dean Cooper After years of sitting on outdated county fee schedules, Levy County suddenly found two of them on the same agenda. The landfill rate structure dates back to approximately 2018. There have been some adjustments since then, but apparently nothing significant enough to keep pace with the landfill's growing financial problems. The EMS fee schedule dates to 2014. Twelve Years Later, Harrell Finds the Fee Schedule Public Safety Director Mitch Harrell now proposes increasing most EMS base charges by approximately 90%. An emergency basic-life-support transport would rise from $473.54 to $900.20. An emergency advanced-life-support transport would increase from $562.33 to $1,068.98. Mileage would increase to $18.66 for every mile. The current rate is $14.65 for the first 17 miles and $9.76 for every mile after that. Updating 12-year-old rates is long overdue. But Harrell's paperwork does not estimate how much additional revenue the changes should produce—or how much insurance money Levy County may have left on the table while continuing to bill at 2014 rates. Let's see what Harrell has to say tonight. I can hardly wait for the presentation explaining why, after 12 years, updating the fee schedule suddenly became important. The proposal also does not change Levy County's current practice of billing only when a patient is transported. Taxpayers are still waiting for Harrell to address qualifying EMS treatment and services that do not result in transport. Kennedy and Hiers Shake the Trees—and Old Resolutions Start Falling Out These many long-neglected issues do not suddenly fall out of the sky. With Commissioners Charlie Kennedy and Johnny Hiers now on the Board, it appears Levy County's two newest commissioners may be shaking some trees. The BoCC will discuss the proposed landfill and EMS resolutions during tonight's regular meeting beginning at 6 p.m. More information will follow after the meeting. Let's see what else falls out. ———————– Spotlight on Levy County Government is also available on Facebook, with both a private discussion group and a public page: Posted September 8, 2026 | Spotlight on Levy County Government