Allen County commissioners are exploring whether a second attempt at an emergency medical services (EMS) sales tax should go before voters this fall.
On Tuesday, they turned to Mike Taylor, a communications and government relations consultant, for advice on how to educate the public if the measure appears on the November ballot.
Taylor is owner of Strategy Consultants of Kansas City and has extensive experience in journalism, government communications and public affairs. Before founding Strategy Consultants, he served as public relations director for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City and previously worked as communications director for the City of Wichita. Earlier in his career, he spent 20 years as a journalist, including 15 years at KAKE-TV in Wichita.
Taylor discussed with commissioners how the county can present factual information to voters about the potential EMS sales tax, while staying within state laws governing public resources and election issues.
Taylor has worked on several sales tax initiatives over the years, including an EMS referendum in Wyandotte County that passed with more than 60% voter approval. “The goal of the public information campaign would be to ensure voters are well-informed about the reasons for the proposed sales tax and allow them to have accurate factual information,” Taylor said.
THE SALES tax in question is intended to help fund EMS operations, which currently rely on the county ambulance fund. That fund, with an annual budget authority of just over $2.5 million, is supported by motor vehicles taxes, a property tax levy, and revenue from insurance reimbursements and patient payments. In 2026, the ambulance fund received $1.2 million, about half of its budget, from a 6.212-mill property tax levy.
In November 2024, voters narrowly rejected a half-cent countywide sales tax expected to generate about $1.2 million annually for EMS. At the time, commissioners said the revenue could reduce property taxes — but stopped short of committing to a specific reduction amount.
The county’s current sales tax rate is 1.25%, consisting of a quarter-cent for Allen County Regional Hospital, a half-cent for the landfill and a half-cent for the general fund. Had the proposal passed, the county rate would have increased to 1.75%.
Taylor stressed that county officials can educate voters but cannot use public funds to advocate for passage of the measure. “You couldn’t print ‘vote yes’ signs or mailers that say ‘vote yes,’” he said. “What you can do is present factual information.”
One approach, he suggested, would be providing side-by-side explanations of what approval or rejection of the tax would mean.
“You could, in effect, have a column that states a ‘Yes vote’ means this, and then you outline what would happen,” he noted. “And a ‘No vote’ means this, and you outline what would happen.”
Commissioner Jerry Daniels said public understanding of EMS funding challenges will be critical if the proposal moves forward. He noted that two of the county’s three ambulance stations serve rural areas in his district.
“I get asked, frequently, whether I’m not going to let them close our ambulance station in Moran or Humboldt,” Daniels said.
He pointed to rapidly increasing EMS costs, noting the county’s ambulance contract has climbed from roughly $750,000 annually more than a decade ago to nearly $3 million today. “What else can you do other than reduce services, reduce personnel, et cetera?” Daniels said. “And we don’t want to do that.”
Taylor said many communities have turned to sales taxes to spread costs beyond local property owners. “A number of communities have found sales tax is a good way to diversify your revenues so you’re not relying totally on the homeowner or business owner to pay a property tax,” he said.
He also pointed to Allen County’s future state park as a potential source of outside spending that could contribute sales tax revenue. “You’ve got a new state park that’s going to be opening, which will draw, I would assume, a lot of tourists and folks that will likely spend money,” Taylor said.
