Public comment at the Nov. 19 Lycoming County meeting included two detailed appeals from emergency-services stakeholders.

Paul McKinley (speaker 17) identified himself as president of the county EMS council and said a compliance director position — funded through the state and responsible for inspections across Lycoming, Tioga and Sullivan counties — has been vacant since June. He asked when the county would fill the position, saying only two staff members are covering inspections for three counties and expressing concern about increased inspection workload and upcoming scheduled inspections. The chair asked Mr. McKinley to leave contact information with the county secretary so staff could follow up.

Carpenter (speaker 18) spoke on behalf of the West Branch Firemen's Association and requested budget funding to replace lost training packages and cover rising per-seat costs charged by neighboring counties. He said county departments had relied on training packages in prior years and now face per-seat fees (he cited a $30/seat charge) that increase training costs for local volunteer fire departments. Carpenter also raised concerns about radio-system performance, telecommunicator staffing shortfalls, and morale in the Department of Public Safety, and he urged that representatives from the fire and EMS communities sit on interview panels for the new public-safety director to ensure subject-matter expertise.

Why it matters: Filling the EMS compliance director vacancy affects timely inspections and safety oversight for EMS agencies; firefighter training funding and radio/dispatch capacity affect preparedness and response throughout the county.

What’s next: Commissioners said budget documents would be available for review Tuesday and invited the commenters to engage with staff; they also asked to be provided with contact information to follow up about the compliance director vacancy.