City and county leaders agreed to extend a contract for ambulance services by two months as they negotiate a possible new deal, the latest development in an ongoing division on the issue.
The hope is to try one more time to see if the two sides can come to an agreement. The city and county have asked a neutral, local individual to serve as a mediator.
“We’re trying to do what is best for the county as a whole. There are a lot of moving pieces,” County Chairman David Lee said after a commission meeting on Tuesday morning.
“I think there’s a willingness and consensus to go down this path and I’m very hopeful we can come up with something that is agreeable to both entities. I walked out of today’s meeting feeling optimistic.”
It’s a notable shift in direction as the county seeks to answer the question of who will provide EMS services in the future, and what those services might entail.
It’s also a bit of deja vu. Around two years ago, the county very nearly signed an agreement to switch to a different service provider, American Global Response (AMR) after years of a troubled relationship with the City of Iola that dates back to the 1970s.
At the last minute, the city and county agreed to continue working together and signed a new agreement in November 2021.
That relationship soured in January, when Council members voted to terminate the contract effective Aug. 1. The city cited increased costs and difficulty finding staff to meet the existing terms.
That led county commissioners to pursue a new deal with AMR. In April, they revealed their intention to hire AMR but have yet to sign a contract.
The AMR proposal would cost $1.8 million for the first year but does not include an important piece: out-of-county transfers to metropolitan hospitals. The county also would lose as much as $800,000 in revenue each year, as AMR would collect fees that previously went to the county.
Iola’s initial contract proposal called for a $1.945 million county stipend but for a lower level of service.
By terminating the contract, the Council hoped to force the county back to the negotiating table. Instead, county commissioners decided to go another route. Both sides reported little to no communication between them during the ensuing months.
EACH OF the proposals — from AMR and the city — has various advantages and drawbacks.
The lack of transfer services through AMR is a concern, though officials have said that could be negotiated later.
As currently proposed, AMR would provide emergency ambulance services, i.e., taking someone to the hospital, but would not provide medical transfers from the hospital to an out-of-town facility.
