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Richland County committee hears concerns over ambulance contracts, advances counsel-conflict resolution to full board
Summary
A resident urged the county to prioritize ambulance service over costs; administrators reported nine municipalities committed, three negotiating and one opting out. Committee advanced a resolution addressing attorney conflict and will refer contract decisions and a proposed ad hoc intergovernmental committee to the full board.
Chair called the Richland County Executive & Finance Committee to order and opened public comment, where Sharon Schmitz urged the county to prioritize ambulance service over financial concerns and asked that people with long experience be included on any new working group: “Lives, our lives, and the lives of our family and friends” she said, adding that committee members had been given little information before previous votes.
Administrator provided a status update on municipal ambulance contracts, saying nine municipalities have committed to county ambulance services for next year, three remain in negotiations and one municipality (Eva) has declined county service and indicated it will use Hillsborough. The administrator said attorneys are finalizing contract details and staff hope to have all signed contracts returned by Dec. 2.
Committee members discussed intergovernmental coordination and the potential for a revived city–county ad hoc committee to address shared services and related issues; the administrator said staff would locate prior committee structure and report back. Members also expressed concern about legal representation for ambulance matters after counsel notified the county of a conflict.
On the counsel conflict, staff reported that the attorney who previously represented both city and county on ambulance matters notified the county he would step back from representing both sides in that specific matter; staff proposed a resolution to allow the attorney to continue other county work but to require separate counsel for ambulance-related representation. Andy Phillips was identified as available to assist on ambulance contract matters. The committee voted to move the resolution to the full county board for consideration.
The committee took no final action on awarding ambulance contracts; the administrator emphasized the timeline for returning signed contracts and the role of attorneys in finalizing details. The matter will return to the full board with the advanced resolution and any additional contract information.
Ending: The committee advanced the counsel-conflict resolution and asked staff to continue contract finalization; the full county board will consider the resolution and any contract actions at a subsequent meeting.
