If an Arkansas quorum court creates an ambulance service district under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-282-102(e) but the ordinance does not specify how the district will be funded, can voters approve the ordinance anyway?
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This page answers the general question as of 2016. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Arkansas law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
Prosecuting Attorney Robert T. Rogers, II, asked the AG a clean question: if a quorum court passes an ordinance creating an ambulance service district under § 14-282-102(e), but the ordinance is silent on how the district will be funded (no assessment, no millage), can a referendum of the residents cure that and put the ordinance into effect?
AG Leslie Rutledge said no. Section 14-282-102(e)(1)(A) requires the ordinance to do two things: designate the area to be served and "set forth the method the ambulance service district shall assess the persons residing therein or the property owners having property located therein." Those are the only two funding methods § 14-282-102(e) allows, and the choice has to be in the ordinance itself.
An ordinance that omits the funding method does not satisfy the statute. The AG concluded a reviewing court would hold such an ordinance invalid. Because the ordinance is invalid from the start, there is nothing for the residents to vote on, and a vote cannot make it effective.
The AG noted in a footnote that an ambulance service district can also be created without a quorum-court ordinance, by order of the county court following a petition of property owners under § 14-282-102(a)-(d). In that alternative track, the district is funded by benefits assessed against the real property in the district under § 14-282-107. But the question Rogers asked was specifically about the quorum-court route under subsection (e), and on that route the funding method must be in the ordinance.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2016. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Background and statutory framework
Two paths to create an ambulance service district
Arkansas Code chapter 282 of title 14 governs ambulance service districts. Section 14-282-102 contains two parallel methods of creating one:
- Subsection (a) through (d): county court order following a property-owner petition. The district is funded by benefits assessed against real property under § 14-282-107.
- Subsection (e): quorum-court ordinance. The ordinance must designate the area to be served and "set forth the method the ambulance service district shall assess the persons residing therein or the property owners having property located therein."
The two paths are alternatives. Each comes with its own statutory requirements, and a quorum court that chooses the (e) route has to satisfy (e)'s requirements.
What § 14-282-102(e) requires in the ordinance itself
Subsection (e)(1)(A) reads as a list of required elements. The AG focused on the language that the ordinance "shall . . . also set forth the method" of taxation. As he read the statute, that language is mandatory, not aspirational. The Arkansas Supreme Court in Western Carroll County Ambulance District v. Johnson described § 14-282-102(e) as establishing an "alternative method of taxation" available to ambulance service districts; the subsection's two listed methods (assessment of residents or property millage) are the menu. The ordinance creating the district must pick from the menu.
Why a referendum cannot cure the defect
The questioner offered a possible workaround: have the residents vote on the ordinance and use that vote to ratify it, even with the funding method missing. The AG rejected that. Statutory validity is a threshold question. If the ordinance does not comply with § 14-282-102(e)(1)(A), it never becomes a valid ordinance. A vote on something that is not a valid ordinance has nothing to ratify. The AG was direct: "[t]he ordinance would not be effective; and in my opinion, a vote could not make it effective."
The fix is to draft a new ordinance that includes the funding method, then put that ordinance through the proper adoption process. There is no shortcut.
Common questions
Q: Our quorum court passed an ambulance district ordinance last month without specifying how it would be funded. Can we put it on the ballot to fix the gap?
A: Under this opinion, no. The funding method has to be in the ordinance itself. A referendum on a defective ordinance cannot retroactively make it valid. The clean fix is to repeal or amend the ordinance with one that includes the assessment or millage method.
Q: What methods of funding does § 14-282-102(e) allow?
A: Either an assessment on the persons residing in the district or a tax millage on the property within the district. The ordinance has to pick one and state it.
Q: Is there another way to create an ambulance service district that does not require a quorum-court ordinance?
A: Yes. Under § 14-282-102(a) through (d), the county court can create an ambulance service district by order following a petition from property owners in the proposed district. Under that path, the district is funded by benefits assessed against real property under § 14-282-107.
Q: What happens to a district that was created without a funding method in the ordinance?
A: The AG took the position that a reviewing court would conclude the ordinance is invalid. Practically, that means the district has no lawful authority to collect taxes. The quorum court would need to start over with a compliant ordinance, or pursue the property-owner-petition path.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- Ark. Code Ann. § 14-282-102(e)(1)(A) (Supp. 2015) (quorum-court ordinance requirements, including method of taxation)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 14-282-102(a)-(d) (county-court order following property-owner petition)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 14-282-107 (Repl. 1998) (assessment of benefits in the petition-created district)
Cases:
- Western Carroll Cty. Amb. Dist. v. Johnson, 345 Ark. 95, 100, 44 S.W.3d 284, 287 (2001) (§ 14-282-102(e) establishes an "alternative method of taxation")
Source
Official summary
If a quorum court creates an ambulance service district pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. sec. 14-282-102(e), but does not provide for an assessment or millage, must the ordinance still be approved by a vote of the residents? RESPONSE: When you state that the quorum court "does not provide for an assessment or millage," I take it you mean the ordinance creating the ambulance service district does not include the method of taxation for funding the district. In my opinion, an ordinance that does not set forth the method of taxation fails to comply with Ark. Code Ann. sec. 14-282-102(e). Accordingly, under the assumption of your question "that the quorum court created the ambulance service district pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. sec. 14-282-102(e)" the ordinance would not be effective and could not be made effective by a vote.
Original opinion text
Opinion No. 2016-002
April 13, 2016
Robert T. Rogers, II
Prosecuting Attorney
STATE OF ARKANSAS
ATTORNEY GENERAL
LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Nineteenth Judicial District - East
202 N. Springfield
P.O. Box 536
Berryville, AR 72616
Dear Mr. Rogers:
I am writing in response to your request for an opinion on the following question:
If a quorum court creates an ambulance service district pursuant to
Arkansas Code Annotated 14-282-102(e), but does not provide for
an assessment or millage, must the ordinance still be approved by a
vote of the residents?
RESPONSE
When you state that the quorum court "does not provide for an assessment or
millage," I take it you mean the ordinance creating the ambulance service district
does not include the method of taxation for funding the district. In my opinion, an
ordinance that does not set forth the method of taxation fails to comply with Ark.
Code Ann. § 14-282-102(e). Accordingly, under the assumption of your
question, that the quorum court created the ambulance service district pursuant to
Ark. Code Ann. § 14-282-102(e), the ordinance would not be effective and could
not be made effective by a vote.
DISCUSSION
Arkansas Code Annotated § 14-282-102(e) expressly requires that an ordinance
creating an ambulance service improvement district designate the area to be served
and "also set forth the method the ambulance service district shall assess the
persons residing therein or the property owners having property located therein."
Subsection 14-282-102(e) is unambiguous in requiring that the ordinance set forth
the method of taxation by which the ambulance service district will be financed.
Taxes can either be assessed to each resident or a tax millage will be imposed on
all property within the district. But the method must be stated in the ordinance.
If the method of taxation is not stated in the ordinance, it is clear that the
ordinance fails to comply with Ark. Code Ann. § 14-282-102(e). I believe a
reviewing court would conclude that an ordinance based on § 14-282-102(e) is
invalid in this instance. There would thus be no occasion for the residents to vote
on such an ordinance. The ordinance would not be effective; and in my opinion, a
vote could not make it effective.
Sincerely,
LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Attorney General
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