Flandreau council charges task force to study takeover of Moody County ambulance after county vote

Flandreau City Council on Thursday approved a revised charge for its ambulance task force to determine whether the city could operate Moody County Ambulance Service and asked the group to return a recommendation before Feb. 28, 2024.

Mayor Dan Sutton said the move followed a Moody County commission meeting in which Commissioner Hemmer moved to turn the county ambulance service and its assets over to another municipality. "I am committed that I think it is vitally important to have it whether state statute says, you have to or you don't," Sutton said during council discussion.

Cole (city staff member) — who has been helping organize the task force — told the council the commission's action and compressed timeline mean the group must focus specifically on feasibility. "I don't believe when you start a committee with your conclusions already drawn, you're not going to get the benefit that you get from a task force," Cole said, urging an open-minded review of operational and financial options.

Council members said they were surprised by the county meeting's outcome and said the task force will need more detailed information from Moody County about staffing, schedules, salaries and operational procedures to produce a meaningful recommendation. Council members said the information they currently have includes budget figures, call volumes and an inventory list, but that many operational details remain missing.

During the county meeting described to the council, the commission appointed Commissioners Bruning, Doyle and Marty to its task force after a tied vote required Chairwoman Bruning to break the tie. Commissioner Doyle reportedly opposed the motion to transfer assets because he favored continued joint work through a task force; the motion nonetheless passed.

Council members approved a motion to adopt the task force charge, with the text asking the group to "examine the feasibility of the city of Flandreau operating the Moody County Ambulance Service and request that the task force render a recommendation to the city council prior to 02/28/2024." The council also authorized Mayor Dan Sutton and Cole to coauthor a short response to Moody County clarifying the city's revised task force charge and requesting additional information.

Council discussion emphasized multiple options remain on the table, including continued county operation with additional county support, subsidies, operational partnerships with fire or sheriff departments, or a full municipal takeover. Several speakers urged that the task force not be forced to a binary yes/no conclusion but to identify opportunities, challenges, strengths and weaknesses.

The council scheduled the task force to meet next Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the city office; the meetings will be open to the public and official minutes will be kept. Council members said they expect to set an internal task force schedule that allows the council adequate time to review any recommendation before the Feb. 28 deadline.

Votes at a glance: The council carried motions to adopt the meeting agenda, to adopt the revised ambulance task force charge, and to authorize Mayor Sutton and Cole to coauthor and send a response to Moody County. Each motion was made, seconded and recorded as "aye" with "motion carried," but specific roll-call tallies by name were not recorded in the council transcript.