1. 1. No taxpayer shall be required to pay property taxes for ground ambulance service to both an ambulance district and a fire protection district or two ambulance districts which operate a ground ambulance service, unless reaffirmed and authorized pursuant to this section. In the event that a taxpayer in a third class county is paying taxes to both entities to provide ground ambulance service, any taxpayer residing in the area subject to the double tax may file a petition with the county clerk in which the area, or greatest part thereof, is situated requesting that the double tax be eliminated and that the area only pay a tax to one entity.

2. 2. Upon receipt of such petition, the county clerk shall determine the area taxed by two such entities and place the question before the voters of such area at the next state or municipal election. The petition shall request that the following question be submitted to the voters residing within the geographic limits of the area:

   The .................... (description of area) is currently paying a tax to provide ambulance service to the ................... (name of entity created first) and the .................... (name of entity created second).

   As a result, choose only one of the following districts to provide ambulance service and taxation:................... (name of entity created first)................... (name of entity created second).3. The entity receiving the most votes shall be declared as the single taxing entity for the area in question. The taxpayers within the area shall thereafter only pay one tax to the single taxing entity following a three-year period, over which the tax rate levied and collected shall be decreased by one-third each year until such tax is no longer levied or collected by the entity not chosen to provide service.

3. 4. All costs incurred by the county clerk as a result of this section, including election costs, shall be paid by the entity not chosen to provide service.
4. 5. The boundaries and service area of the entities providing ambulance service will reflect the change as determined by the election.

(L. 1998 S.B. 743, A.L. 1999 S.B. 436)