(Effective for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2024) 1. The board of directors shall establish a general emergency medical service policy for the district and annually shall estimate the probable expense for carrying out that policy. The estimate must be certified by the president and secretary to the proper county auditor or county auditors, on or before August tenth of each year. In the year for which the levy is sought, a board of directors of a rural ambulance service district seeking approval of a property tax levy under this chapter shall file with the county auditor of the counties within the rural ambulance service district, at a time and in a format prescribed by the county auditors, a financial report for the preceding calendar year showing the ending balances of each fund held by the rural ambulance service district during that year. The board or boards of county commissioners may levy a tax not to exceed the mill rate approved by the electors of the district under section 11-28.3-04. If the board wishes to levy a tax in excess of that approved by the electors, the board, upon its own motion, may place the question of increasing the maximum allowable mill levy for the electors to approve at a regular or special election. The amount levied under this section may not exceed a mill rate of fifteen mills upon the taxable property within the district for the maintenance of the rural ambulance service district for the fiscal year as provided by law. A rural ambulance service district may be dissolved by approval of electors of the district as provided in section 11-28.3-13.

2. The tax levied for a rural ambulance service district must be:

a. Collected as other taxes are collected in the county.

b. Deposited by the secretary-treasurer in a bank or credit union account.

c.    Paid out upon warrants drawn upon the district account by authority of the board of directors of the district, bearing the signature of the secretary-treasurer and the countersignature of the president.

3. The amount of the tax levy may not exceed the amount of funds required to defray the expenses of the district for a period of one year as embraced in the annual estimate of expense, including the amount of principal and interest upon the indebtedness of the district for the ensuing year. The district may include in its operating budget no more than ten percent of its annual operating budget as a depreciation expense to be set aside in a dedicated emergency medical services sinking fund deposited with the treasurer for the replacement of equipment and ambulances. The ten percent emergency medical services sinking fund may be in addition to the actual annual operating budget, but the total of the annual operating budget and the annual ten percent emergency medical services sinking fund shall not exceed the amount of revenue that would be generated by application of the maximum mill levy approved by the electors.

Emergency medical service policy – Levy – Financial report. (Effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2023) 1. The board of directors shall establish a general emergency medical service policy for the district and annually shall estimate the probable expense for carrying out that policy. The estimate must be certified by the president and secretary to the proper county auditor or county auditors, on or before August tenth of each year. In the year for which the levy is sought, a board of directors of a rural ambulance service district seeking approval of a property tax levy under this chapter shall file with the county auditor of the counties within the rural ambulance service district, at a time and in a format prescribed by the county auditors, a financial report for the preceding calendar year showing the ending balances of each fund held by the rural ambulance service district during that year. The board or boards of county commissioners may levy a tax not to exceed the mill rate approved by the electors of the district under section 11-28.3-04. If the board wishes to levy a tax in excess of that approved by the electors, the board, upon its own motion, may place the question of increasing the maximum allowable mill levy for the electors to approve at a regular or special election. The amount levied under this section may not exceed a mill rate of fifteen mills upon the taxable property within the district for the maintenance of the rural ambulance service district for the fiscal year as provided by law.

2. The tax levied for a rural ambulance service district must be:

a. Collected as other taxes are collected in the county.

b. Deposited by the secretary-treasurer in a bank or credit union account.

c.    Paid out upon warrants drawn upon the district account by authority of the board of directors of the district, bearing the signature of the secretary-treasurer and the countersignature of the president.

3. The amount of the tax levy may not exceed the amount of funds required to defray the expenses of the district for a period of one year as embraced in the annual estimate of expense, including the amount of principal and interest upon the indebtedness of the district for the ensuing year. The district may include in its operating budget no more than ten percent of its annual operating budget as a depreciation expense to be set aside in a dedicated emergency medical services sinking fund deposited with the treasurer for the replacement of equipment and ambulances. The ten percent emergency medical services sinking fund may be in addition to the actual annual operating budget, but the total of the annual operating budget and the annual ten percent emergency medical services sinking fund shall not exceed the amount of revenue that would be generated by application of the maximum mill levy approved by the electors.

4. If an ambulance operations area identified by the department of health and human services under section 23-27-01 is situated, in whole or in part, within the boundaries of a rural ambulance service district formed under this chapter, and the district does not provide emergency medical services to the territory in the ambulance operations area, whether directly or through a contract under section 11-28.3-12, the property situated in the ambulance operations area which does not receive emergency medical services from the district is exempt from the district’s tax levy under this section. Changes to the ambulance operations area will not impact the district under this section until the subsequent tax year. The excluded territory remains responsible and must discharge its proportionate share of outstanding obligations pursuant to the procedure under section 11-28.3-17.