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1. Do Xenia residents pay the highest income tax rates in the State of Ohio and, therefore, should not have to pay for services they are already being taxed for?

As noted below, 82 Ohio municipalities have income rates equal to or higher than the City of Xenia. As noted in other Q and A's in this section, the income tax revenue does not cover all the operational expenses for these services. The EMS Billing change was developed to keep from adding any additional tax burden to citizens. Some cities request an income tax increase and add personnel to address the rising call volume. Instead, the City of Xenia is trying to reduce the call volume (especially calls that are not emergencies) to avoid adding additional personnel and increasing taxes. For your information, the list of Ohio cities that have Income Tax Rates equal to or higher than Xenia as of 2022 according to Ohio.gov (click here) are as follows:

AKRON BARBERTON BEDFORD BEXLEY BROOKLYN BROOKLYN HEIGHTS CAMPBELL CANTON CENTERVILLE CIRCLEVILLE CLEVELAND CLEVELAND HEIGHTS COLUMBUS CUYAHOGA HEIGHTS DAYTON ELYRIA EUCLID GAHANNA GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS HIGHLAND HILLS HILLIARD HIRAM HOLLAND HUBER HEIGHTS KENT KETTERING LAKEMORE LORAIN MACEDONIA MAPLE HEIGHTS MIAMISBURG MOGADORE MORAINE MUNROE FALLS

NEW BOSTON NORTH RANDALL OAKWOOD (Cuyahoga Co.) OAKWOOD (Montgomery Co.) OBERLIN OBETZ OREGON PARMA PARMA HEIGHTS PORTSMOUTH RAVENNA REYNOLDSBURG RICHMOND HEIGHTS RIVERSIDE ROSSFORD SEVEN HILLS SHAKER HEIGHTS SPRINGFIELD TALLMADGE TOLEDO TROTWOOD TWINSBURG UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS UPPER ARLINGTON WALTON HILLS WARREN WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS WEST CARROLLTON WHITEHALL WOODLAWN WOODMERE WORTHINGTON YOUNGSTOWN

2. Will I be charged EMS transport charges between $519 to $1,038 depending on services plus $12.98 per mile?

While the City of Xenia EMS Billing has a set rate, the collection of the funds will be based on what your insurance allows for billing.  The adjusted rate will be what your insurance will be billed.  If you have a copay through your insurance, you will be responsible for the copay. The City will only collect on the copay you would owe. If you have a deductible, you will be responsible for the unmet portion of your deductible at the time of billing. If you are self-pay, you will be responsible for the Medicare adjusted amount. Financial hardship requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis as directed in the policy.

For example: If you are billed $1,038 for a transport and your insurance adjusted rate is $550 and you have a $50 copay for transports, your insurance will pay $500 and you will owe $50. No additional amount will be billed or collected on.  This is the same principle that you have when you visit your Doctor or urgent care.

3. Was the purpose of the 2010 income tax increase to prevent charging residents service fees?

The .5% income tax increase put in place in 2010 was necessary to maintain Citywide services at that time and to provide funding for capital improvement projects. Half of the increase (.25% income tax) was to help maintain Public Safety services. Public Safety Services include Police, Fire/EMS, and Dispatch. Since 2010, the number of EMS calls annually has increased from 3,470 in 2010 to 6,054 in 2022. Since 2010, the State of Ohio has significantly reduced the amount of local government funds received by the City of Xenia.

4. Does the City's income tax revenue support Fire and EMS services?

The City’s Income Tax revenue provides approximately $6 million annually into the Police and Fire (including dispatch, EMS) Fund. The Police and Fire fund has about $12 million in operational expenses annually to maintain police and fire operations at current levels. (This excludes fleet and capital purchases.) The difference is made up through a transfer from the General Fund, EMS Billing revenue, Contractual Services, Grants, and other miscellaneous revenues, which helps to maintain Police and Fire services as required by law.

The City is not required to provide Ambulance or EMS Services but chooses to offer these services to residents. Residents who utilize the service are expected to pay for the services they receive (similar to an Emergency Room Visit).

5. Is the City addressing facilities, such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities, that are abusing the system to try and correct the problem?

Yes. The City has met with and continues to meet with facilities who utilize EMS services. We are seeing a growing issue with transports from nursing homes/assisted living facilities.  While we understand there are emergency transports from these facilities, we have seen a drastic increase from these facilities for non-emergency transports.  The City Manager has developed a task force to come up with a plan to meet with these facilities to work with them and try to reduce the call volume.  Part of this policy change includes charging fees to facilities when it is determined to be a non-emergency call. We have had meetings with many facilities and will continue to meet with them to address the problem.

6. Does the City collect fees from people who are abusing the system who are on Medicaid?

Yes. The City will collect fees for all EMS services used.  While we have some that are larger users of the EMS system, they will be billed for each transport.

7. Will the City start charging for fire calls?

No. The City is required to provide fire services and, therefore, is not able to charge residents to put out fires. However, the City will charge fees for chemical spills and multiple false fire alarms.