Why not pay by population?

When it comes to public business, discussion of that business needs to be held in public. PERIOD.

The fact there was very little public discussion Monday night at the special Taylor Fiscal Court meeting regarding the future of Rescue and E-911 leads one to believe everything was decided long before the meeting ever began.

Magistrates voted Monday night to have the County take over E-911 service and let the City provide Rescue services for the entire county.

But that wasn't what the City offered.

In fact, the City had just sent a letter to the County last week asking to extend the agreement by which the City government provides all Rescue and E-911 services to all residents of Taylor County and the County contributes $650,000 toward that purpose.

And for that, Mayor Tony Young and the Campbellsville City Council deserve a pat on the back. We believe the City and County should both contribute to shared services.

We question the action of Fiscal Court members for their unanimous vote - without discussion - in favor of Dr. James Jones' motion to ask the City to transfer control of E-911 to the County, leaving the City to pay for countywide rescue services.

Let's face it: the City shouldn't be responsible for providing a countywide service without help from the County. Neither can the County afford to provide the service for everyone without the City's help.

While we understand that City residents are also residents of the County, it's only fair that the City contribute to services for its residents. Those same residents pay taxes to both City and County governments.

That's why what nearby Nelson County does - and Marion County's judge/executive has proposed to do - makes perfect sense. And that's paying by population.

All costs associated with E-911 and Rescue should be shared by both governing bodies based upon the 2010 Census Bureau data.

The Rescue budget for 2010-2011 is $1.95 million, with $1.4 million spent by Feb. 28. The E-911 budget for 2010-2011 is $740,726, with $492,967 spent by the end of last month.

According to the newest Census data, 24,512 residents live in Taylor County and 9,108 residents live within the city limits. Using this information, the City would be responsible for 37.2 percent of the cost and Taylor County responsible for 62.8 percent of the cost.

In fact, this methodology may be the logical solution to fund all shared services.