The International Falls City Council is scheduled to meet in special session Friday to consider a handful of items.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. in the council chambers of the Falls Municipal Building.
The council is expected to discuss options for payment of a 2-percent MinnesotaCare tax on ambulance service bills. The item was deferred at an earlier meeting.
The tax was discussed recently when local officials met with Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk and Rep. Rob Ecklund to consider local priorities for the 2016 Legislature.
At issue is notification from the Minnesota Department of Revenue that the city owes back taxes from when in 2012 the city began a full-time paramedic service, ending volunteer service for which no tax is imposed.
City officials were unaware of the need to pay taxes on the service when it was no long considered a volunteer service.
The annual tax is estimated at $12,000, and taxes on the service from 2012 through 2015 is due by March.
City Administrator Ken Anderson told the group the payment of back taxes would impact the 2016 ambulance budget and was unsure what purpose the tax serves. He said he believes the law setting the tax sunsets in 2019.
The area’s state lawmakers said they would draft a bill to fix the problem, saying paying the tax could mean the ambulance service cannot buy needed equipment or make needed improvements.
The council is also expected to accept a letter of resignation from Dennis Jonson, city street and water commissioner. In a letter dated Feb. 1, Jonson said he is retiring effective June 3.
A revised job description, salary and benefits, and hiring schedule is expected to be reviewed. Authorization to advertise the position is expected.
Also on Friday’s agenda is consideration of professional services and expenditures for the city and to support the Fire Civil Service Commission.
