by Kate Shunney
After months of discussion and three public hearings, the Morgan County Commission adopted a change to the county’s Ambulance Fee ordinance that will allow the fee to be imposed on commercial properties.
The vote came at the March 9 meeting, which was a special Budget Meeting for the commissioners. The changes to the ordinance went into effect at the time of the vote. Commercial property owners will see a charge for the fee with their next property tax bill in July.
Revenue from the ambulance fee goes to the county’s EMS Board, which uses the money to pay for an annual contract with Morgan County Rescue Service, Inc., the non-profit provider of ambulance service for Morgan County.
Morgan County’s Special Emergency Ambulance Service Ordinance was first passed in June of 2007, and has been amended four times. Most recently, in April 2016, the fee was raised to $150 per year for each residential unit in the county. The fee is not applied to empty parcels of land.
As of the change to the ordinance, owners of commercial property will be charged at least the same fee as each residential property owner, and possibly more, based on the square footage of permanent commercial structures on their property.
Who pays it?
The commercial fee does not apply to churches, hospitals or schools in the county.
A commercial, or Non-Residential Property, is defined in the ordinance as:
(ital)
commercial, business, industrial or non-residential activity conducted for a profit or non-profit, including, but not limited to, any store, filling station, hotel, motel, warehouse, flea market, amusement park, camp ground, institutional living
arrangement, a bed and breakfast, an entertainment venue, a club, bar or restaurant. In the case of commercial activity that occurs outdoors such as a flea market, camp ground, or amusement park,
such business shall be assessed a fee as a commercial unit unless a permanent structure associated with the use is already subject to a commercial fee at the same location. In the case of a commercial complex with more than one structure, such as a shopping center or business complex, each separate structure shall be included in total square foot calculations. (end ital)
The ordinance states that square footage “shall be determined by the Morgan County Assessor’s Office.”
It states: “All structures located on each property shall be included in the total square-footage calculation, including but not limited to warehouses, retail space, storage areas, and accessory structures. If a dispute arises with regard to whether or not a structure qualifies for inclusion in the total square-footage calculation, the burden is upon the owner to demonstrate that the structure is a non-residential accessory structure or residential unit.”
How much?
Under the amended ordinance, owners of commercial property will be charged a minimum of $150 per property, with the fees calculated by the square-footage of a property.
This is the same method used to calculate the county’s Fire Fee, which is why county officials opted to use this avenue for determining the fee amount.
Under the commercial fee schedule, a property up to 2,000-sq. ft. will be billed $150 per year.
A property 2,001-2,500 sq. ft. will be billed $200.
The fee schedule continues in these increments:
2,501-3,000 sq.ft.= $250
3,001-3,500 sq.ft.= $300
3,501-4,000 sq.ft.= $350
4,001-5,000 sq.ft.= $450
5,001-6,000 sq.ft.= $550
6,001-7,000 sq.ft.= $650
7,001-8,000 sq.ft.= $750
8,001-9,000 sq.ft.= $850
9,001-10,000 sq.ft.= $950
10,000-15,000 sq.ft.= $1,050
15,001-20,000 sq.ft.= $1,500
20,001-25,000 sq.ft.= $1,750
25,001-35,000 sq.ft.= $2,000
35,001-50,000 sq.ft.= $3,250
50,001+ sq.ft.= $5,000
Sustaining ambulance service
Commissioners acted on the recommendation of the EMS Board, which identified a shortfall in revenue from the ambulance fee to cover the cost of the annual contract with Morgan County Rescue Service, Inc.
The last contract was renewed at a cost of $1.54 million. The county collected $1.34 million in ambulance fee revenue in the 2024/2025 fiscal year.
Morgan County EMS has reported that the cost of their operation, from staff salaries to the cost of medical supplies and equipment and ambulances, has continued to increase at a greater rate than the price of their contract. They operate two stations – one in Berkeley Springs and one in Paw Paw – with crews that provide emergency medical response 24/7.
County officials said they would not increase the ambulance fee on residential property owners without first seeking out other ways to raise revenue for the ambulance service.
The amended ordinance can be found online at https://morgancountywv.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Amended-Ambulance-Fee-Ordinance-1-28-26.pdf
