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Richland County ambulance committee hears staffing and finance updates, approves training agreement
Summary
The Richland County Joint Ambulance Committee was updated on staffing, call volume and vehicle maintenance, debated the service's financial reports and accounts receivable aging, and approved a training repayment agreement that requires new EMTs to remain 18 months after certification and provide 24 hours of call coverage per month.
The Richland County Joint Ambulance Committee on Aug. 25 was told the ambulance service is now fully staffed with six full-time emergency medical technicians and was updated on call volume, vehicle maintenance and the service’s financial position, and the committee approved a training repayment agreement for employees.
Director Scott opened the director’s report saying, “I am happy to announce that we are fully staffed with all 6 full time EMTs,” and that three of those EMT basics are currently in class to become advanced EMTs. He told the committee the service has responded to roughly 856 runs so far this year, with about 776 classified as emergency responses and smaller numbers classified as standbys, transfers and other calls.
The committee spent the bulk of its meeting on the service’s finances and billing. Director Scott and finance staff described long-standing reporting issues between the ambulance service and the county accounting system and asked the committee to focus on percent-of-budget and percent-remaining metrics rather than only period-to-date balances. Scott said a recent journal entry of roughly $498,000 was posted in fund 51 for period ending 06/30/2025 after reconciliation with the billing company.
Committee members expressed differing views about the immediate financial picture. One member calculated a cumulative shortfall of $141,844 from the monthly reports; another said fund balance as of July appeared to be about $287,000 on the county’s balance sheet but cautioned that number is “fluid.” Committee members asked for a clear monthly fund-balance report showing fund 51 and for an aging of accounts receivable showing current, 30-, 60-, 90- and over-90-day amounts.
The committee reviewed an accounts-receivable summary produced by the billing contractor and was told the report showed total outstanding receivables of $1,509,969. Several members said that figure appeared incorrect or needed breakdown by aging buckets; Director Scott said he would ask the billing contractor (Unified) to regenerate the aging report and provide clearer detail for the next meeting.
Maintenance and operations were also discussed. Staff reported recent DOT inspections and repairs to ambulances (units 33, 34 and 35) including shocks, motor repairs and headlight replacement to meet inspection standards; the work was described as completed and paid from vehicle-maintenance lines in the operating budget.
On staffing and training, Scott presented a revised training agreement that adds a repayment obligation and a minimum service requirement. As described in the packet, an employee who receives training must remain employed for a minimum of 18 months after passing the national registry exam and “provide 24 hours call coverage as assigned” during that period. The committee approved the staffing/training agreement by motion (see Votes at a glance below).
The committee discussed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will clarify the committee’s advisory role and the county board’s budget authority; staff said the MOU is still being finalized and will be routed to executive finance for approval. Staff also said draft MOU terms being discussed for municipal contributions included per-call amounts in the $2.20–$2.25 range and an upfront $2,500 figure, and that final numbers would be provided to municipalities as soon as the draft is complete.
The committee received a brief update on the service director position: the posting opened the week before the meeting, applications were being accepted through Sept. 5, and staff said they would invite committee input into the hiring process (for example, having the chair participate in interviews). Committee members asked that input from current ambulance staff about desired candidate traits be included.
Before adjourning the committee set its next meeting for Sept. 22 at 6:30 p.m. and asked staff to provide: (1) a corrected AR aging report from the billing company; (2) a balance sheet showing fund 51 fund balance; and (3) recommendations on write-offs for aged receivables.
Votes at a glance
- Approval of the meeting agenda — Motion recorded as “Motion by Jean Nicks Boas; seconded by Shirley Welty.” Chair called the vote; motion carried (audio record: unanimous voice vote).
- Approval of previous meeting minutes — Motion recorded as “Motion by Jean Nicks Boas; seconded by Gordon Palmer.” Chair called the vote; motion carried (audio record: unanimous voice vote).
- Approval of revised training/staffing agreement (adds repayment obligation; 18-month service requirement after certification; 24 hours/month call coverage) — Motion recorded as “Motion by Tim (committee member); seconded by Shirley Welty.” Chair called the vote; motion carried (audio record: aye votes recorded; no recorded nays).
- Adjournment to Sept. 22 meeting at 6:30 p.m. — Motion recorded and seconded on the floor; motion carried.
Speakers quoted or paraphrased in this report are taken from the committee meeting record. The committee requested corrected financial and billing detail at the next meeting; no changes to fees, budgets or staffing beyond what is described here were adopted at this meeting.
