(1)  Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the boards of county commissioners in the several counties are hereby authorized, whenever existing ambulance service is not reasonably available to the inhabitants of the county or any portion thereof, to procure an ambulance and pay for the same out of any funds available and to establish an ambulance service to serve the areas that do not have an existing ambulance service reasonably available, both within and outside the cities and villages in their respective counties, and to levy a special tax not to exceed two-hundredths percent (.02%) of the market value for assessment purposes on all taxable property within the county to support the same. Providing ambulance service is a governmental function.