Ambulance Service Fees Now Needed

Because Montgomery County has run up it huge budget deficit by its wasteful policies and unreasonable union-demanded wage increases new sources of revenue are continually being evaluated. The current one in today's news is to establish ambulance fees for those who need the services of a 911 medical call. See this Washington Post link for details of this newest of taxes to be paid by the taxpayers of the county:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/0706/AR2008070601975.html

The County Executive tells us that this fee will be paid by our medical insurance carriers as if costs borne by them won't eventually raise the insurance payments we must make in order to be covered. For those who cannot pay the fee and do not have insurance, these fees will be waived. What is next for our taxpayers to pay for -- the call for police assistance or for the firemen to come check out the odor of smoke in our homes? All of this to assuage the demands for county union employees to receive their three year 30% wage increase and the Councils refusal to mitigate the amount of this raise. Remember that a recent Post editorial estimated that a 2% reduction in the average current 8% yearly increase would probably have avoided all the bedlam that has now occurred. To illustrate the personal costs to taxpayers, my own home with greatly reduced current market value saw a tax bill climb from about $2800 last year to over $3300 this year. Where is the justice in what is going on?