Pulaski County Fiscal Court approves amended EMS agreement with City of Somerset

Pulaski County Fiscal Court on Jan. 15 approved an amended emergency medical services agreement with the City of Somerset that increases funding, keeps the city as the employer of EMS personnel and requires the city to defend and indemnify the county against claims arising from the city’s operation of EMS.

The agreement, presented to the court by Martin, a staff member, also establishes an advisory board, requires monthly financial reports to the court and the Somerset city council, and sets out how real and personal property used for EMS — including ambulances — will be handled if the agreement ends. "The ambulances will be title be transferred to the City of Somerset," Martin said, adding that if the agreement later terminates “then those ambulances will be whatever's left of them will be, deed or transferred back to Pulaski County Municipal Court.”

Why it matters: The agreement clarifies which government is the employer for EMS staff, who pays personnel-related costs and who would assume legal defense if the county is named in litigation tied to EMS operations. The court’s approval puts the amended contract on the schedule for filing and state-level review before it becomes final.

Court discussion and provisions Martin told the court the amended document reflects prior negotiations and adds language to resolve recurring questions about financial responsibility for employees, benefits and workers’ compensation. He said the city will remain the employer of all EMS employees and that the agreement contains an indemnity clause: "the city would defend and indemnify the county for any such claims because of the operation of PMS by the City of Somerset," Martin said.

Martin also described provisions for property and equipment. He said ambulances will be titled to the City of Somerset and noted a return/transfer mechanism if the agreement is terminated: remaining vehicles would be transferred back to Pulaski County Municipal Court or otherwise accounted for under the agreement.

Martin described a multi-year funding schedule in the draft presented to the court and said annual increases are built into the agreement beginning in mid-2026. (The funding numbers read aloud in the meeting transcript were garbled in places; the court record will contain the definitive figures in the signed agreement.) He also said the draft requires monthly reporting so both the city council and fiscal court will have a monthly financial picture of EMS operations.

Action and next steps A motion to approve the amended agreement was made by Mister Strunk and seconded by Mister Wheeldon. The court voted in the affirmative and the motion passed. The judge indicated the signed agreement will be submitted to the Kentucky Department for Local Government for review and then filed in the county clerk’s office and with the secretary of state as required.

The court’s approval authorizes the fiscal court to move forward with the other procedural steps Martin outlined — advisory-board appointments, monthly reporting and the property-title transfers described in the agreement.