Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ems Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Chickasaw County supervisors agree to waive October 2025 city EMS installment
Summary
Supervisors voted to waive the October 2025 quarterly installment that cities contribute to the county EMS pool, while warning cities they may still owe the January 2026 payment unless revenue triggers are met.
Chickasaw County supervisors on July 21 voted to waive the October 2025 quarterly installment that participating cities were scheduled to pay into the county Emergency Medical Services (EMS) pool.
The waiver aims to ease near-term pressure on city budgets while county officials continue monitoring the EMS fund balance and a revenue "trigger" that controls automatic payments.
Why it matters: the EMS pool balance and an established $7.50 per-unit trigger determine whether city payments are automatically required. County staff said the certified EMS account balance as of July 15 was $716,647.95 and cautioned that, unless revenue or the measurement moves above the $7.50 trigger for two consecutive quarters, the January 2026 payment would still likely be required.
Supervisors debated whether to ask cities to pay now to push the metric above the trigger — which would restore the automatic-payment status — or to waive the October installment and reassess. County staff and supervisors said the Medicaid-related GEMT subsidy increase expected this year could improve future quarters but is not guaranteed to prevent further shortfalls.
Officials also discussed operational needs tied to the fund balance. County staff said a new ambulance purchase would cost roughly $220,000 and that current vehicle-rotation plans aim to stagger replacements so not all ambulances require replacement at once.
The board instructed staff to send cities a letter notifying them of the waiver and clarifying that the January payment may still be due unless the $7.50 metric is met in subsequent certifications. Supervisors emphasized continued monitoring of cash flow and anticipated revenue changes before deciding on future waivers or payments.
Details and next steps: County staff said the January 2026 total payment across cities and county would be about $290,088.41 if the payment schedule proceeds. Supervisors asked staff to track the next certification dates (October 15 and January 15) and return with updated figures and options for how much cash the EMS pool should hold to balance readiness against holding excess reserves.
The board's action was procedural authorization to waive the October 2025 installment; the county will notify the cities and continue quarterly monitoring.
