Chickasaw County Works to Bring Funding Together for Public Ambulance Service

Funding a public ambulance in Chickasaw County won’t be easy if the County and cities can’t work together.

During their regular meeting Monday, the Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors continued discussion of financing the venture with each city in the county contributing to the ambulance based on a per capita rate of $100 for each of its citizens. Collectively, they would account for 60% of operating expenses with the County paying the remaining 40%, however the County would run the ambulance service.

Bassett Mayor Jim Ashley told Supervisors that his discussions with mayors in Lawler and Nashua indicate that arrangement might be on shaky ground.

Supervisors have directed County Attorney David Laudner to draft 28E agreements for each of the nine cities in the county represented on the Chickasaw County Ambulance Council. This week, Laudner presented the basic draft, but despite including parameters that try to protect the County and the cities financially, he echoed the initial findings of the ambulance feasibility study done by Save Tech Solutions: making any arrangement work comes down to trust.

While the 28E agreement calls for a five-year commitment for each city, Laudner says his initial draft also includes a review after about 18 months, which would provide a better picture of how the ambulance service is doing financially and the costs of running the service.