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2 Mr. O’Connell said that the tax grant program proposed in the budget would increase the house value to $273,930, provide a $500 grant for household incomes less than $25,000, and provide a $250 grant for household incomes more than $25,000 but less than $50,000. Mr. Taliaferro said he would favor moving the house value up to $325,000 or $350,000. Mr. Lynch said he would put it higher than that and suggested $420,000. Mr. Norris said he would like to see the house value move up to $350,000. Mr. Taliaferro said he would be more comfortable setting the value at $325,000 or $350,000 this year and seeing what happens. Mr. Lynch said this program could be phased out when the Governor’s homestead program goes into effect. Councilors tentatively agreed to set the house value at $350,000, with a grant of $350 for household incomes less than $50,000. Mr. Norris said he would prioritize putting money in this program rather than cutting the tax rate. Mr. Taliaferro said he would like to have a tax deferral program but he understands it will take some time to implement. Ms. Jennifer Brown, Treasurer, said it will take about six months to put a tax deferral program into place. She said changes will need to be made in the real estate tax system and we will need to track compound interest. She said Council can put the program in motion and it can be done in June of 2008. Mr. Craig Brown, City Attorney, said some research needs to be done on the interest rate. Dr. Brown suggested discussing this at the housing work session. Mr. O’Connell said that the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) proposal is seen as a supplement to the Charlottesville Area Rescue Squad (CARS). He said the City, County and CARS need to discuss exactly how it will work, and proposed that it be implemented in January of 2008. Fire Chief Charles Werner said the plan is to do what is already in place, similar to what Albemarle County does, run under the auspices of CARS. Mr. Norris asked about start up and annual operating costs. Mr. O’Connell said that the proposal is to use the current year surplus for the ambulance and staffing until the billing system is in place. He said that billing is expected to cover more than half of the cost. Mr. O’Connell said that the projected cost in FY 09 from the General Fund would be $500,000 assuming 3,000 calls. Dr. Brown said that CARS has angst that if people are billed they cannot raise funds and are concerned that they have not been consulted on this. He said he would like to see if there is some way to commit to moving forward financially and create a good climate to come up with the best system. Ms. Hamilton said Dr. Brown makes a good point, but she is more concerned about CARS’ performance in the City.