Officials take step toward ambulance authority startup
Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2008
County officials took another step toward a transition to the new Washington County Regional Ambulance Authority Tuesday night as the Quorum Court Finance Committee favored transferring assets from Central Emergency Medical Service.
The full Quorum Court will take up the resolution Thursday night during its regular meeting.
County Administrator John Gibson emphasized that the measure is simply enabling legislation to put into action what city and county leaders have previously agreed to.
Gibson said Central EMS had $3.3 million in assets and $565,000 in liabilities as of July.
The interlocal agreement for the county ambulance authority has been entered into by and between the county, and the cities of Fayetteville, Farmington, Prairie Grove, Elkins, Lincoln, West Fork, Winslow, Johnson, Goshen and Greenland.
The purpose of the agreement is for the entities to own and operate the service as exclusive emergency and non-emergency provider within Washington County, excluding the area served by Springdale’s city-run ambulance service.
The regional authority eliminates competition within the ambulance industry in the participating areas, allowing one ambulance service to provide emergency response and non-emergency transfers.
Central Emergency Medical Service, a non-profit corporation, has agreed to transfer the assets to the Authority and ultimately dissolve itself. The articles of incorporation of CEMS require that its assets be distributed by the Quorum Court. The new service will be a quasi-governmental agency. If the Quorum Court finalizes the resolution Thursday, the transfer of assets can take place and the board of directors for the ambulance authority will control the assets, explained Becky Stewart, executive director of CEMS. Stewart has been approved by the board to serve as executive director of the newly created entity. The current Central EMS must be operated as it is now until the new authority is ready to provide the service in October or November. Stewart will continue to oversee the Central EMS and will be involved in the formation of the authority.
Public defender furnishings
The Finance Committee also approved appropriation of a little more than $50,000 for the purchase of furnishings for the new home of the Public Defender’s Office, which will be the former Terminella Building, located across College Avenue from the agency’s current office. Presenting the request was Jerome Paddock, chief deputy public defender.
Finance Committee Chairman H.L. Goodwin Jr. asked if the project needs to be bid, and County Attorney George Butler said it does. But Comptroller Boyd Darling also noted that the appropriation needed to be approved prior to that process. The appropriation will come out of long-term contingencies, Darling noted.
Two of the deputy public defenders, Leana Houston and Lisa Parks, have worked to select furnishings for the office. The building needs to be wired and furnishings added before the office personnel may move in to it. It is unclear when that date will be, but it is likely to be before the first of the year, officials indicated.
Grades
In another matter, the Finance Committee forwarded a recommendation to upgrade two county positions. One of them is in the comptroller’s office. Darling said the office reviewed positions and revised job descriptions to more accurately reflect activities in the office. One of the positions that needed to be changed, he said, was the accounting manager to an office manager-accounting. He said the Job Evaluation/Salary Administration Program has reviewed the latter position and rated it grade 16, which is a move from grade 12. This is a 5 percent increase in the salary, going from $16.09 to $16.89 per hour, which is $512 for the remainder of the year.
Darling explained that the person has been with the county 26 years and has added responsibilities, including making some decisions in his absence.
Goodwin said this was akin to the notion that employees with many years of experience should be attracted with competitive pay.
Justice of the Peace Micah Neal said he dislikes the JESAP system.
“I hate it,” Neal said. “I hate these grades.”
While he said he has nothing against the comptroller’s office employee, he added that employee grades keep changing.
“I do not like this system. It stinks,” he said.
Goodwin indicated his similar feeling about the system.
“I have a feeling it was some kind of a compromise to Civil Service,” he said.
JP Butch Pond that said, while the system is imperfect, “it does work.”
He mentioned that some of people that do not like it should come see how it works before they pass judgment on it.
“ We’ve got to have some kind of guidelines to go by and some rules, ” he said.
The other promotional change the Finance Committee forwarded was rerating mechanic positions because county officials are experiencing difficulty hiring experienced mechanics in the road department.
The new grades are for a master mechanic and senior mechanic to attract and hire applicants. Gibson said officials would like to put current mechanics in those grades, too, at an approximate cost of $1,567 for the remainder of the year (fringe benefits included ).
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