Quorum Court Plans Public Hearing On Ambulance Service
Last updated Wednesday, November 19, 2008 8:20 PM CST in News
By Christopher Spencer
THE MORNING NEWS
FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County residents get a final chance next month to chime in about the county's largest ambulance service becoming a public authority with exclusive rights to provide service.
The Washington County Quorum Court will have a public hearing before its regularly scheduled monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 11. Anyone at that hearing can speak about Central Emergency Medical Service's transition from a nonprofit agency to a governmental authority.
Central Emergency was formed in 1980. The new structure allows the authority to receive financial discounts and special tax status as a governmental entity.
The authority's exclusivity contract kicks in Jan. 1. That contract keeps other ambulance services from taking Central EMS' lucrative nonemergency transports, a measure expected to help the Central EMS' fiscal bottom line.
The authority's board met Wednesday for the second time since its creation earlier this year. The board is drafting a letter to its members by Dec. 1 that details the coming exclusivity contract.
Central EMS is managed by a board, appointed mostly by Fayetteville and Washington County officials. Smaller municipalities in the county -- such as Prairie Grove, Elkins, Farmington and Greenland -- share a board appointment.
Those cities agreed this spring to give Central EMS exclusive authority. The county does not have legal authority to grant exclusivity for nonemergency calls originating in the county's unincorporated areas, according to county attorney George Butler.
The letter will be changed to reflect that, board members agreed.
That's not a problem because other ambulance services don't cover that territory, Central EMS' director Becky Stewart said.
Central EMS serves 125,000 people and covers all of Washington County, excluding Springdale, Nob Hill, Tontitown, Elm Springs and parts of Johnson, which are served by the Springdale Fire Department.
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
