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Residents, officials press for countywide ambulance coverage as counsel withdraws from ambulance matter
Summary
A Richland County public commenter urged cooperation to secure ambulance service; administrators said nine municipalities committed to county service while one declined. County counsel Wendell notified a conflict and will step back from representing the county on the ambulance issue; staff identified Andy Phillips as outside counsel for the matter and the committee moved a resolution to the full board.
Sharon Schmitz, a resident who addressed the committee during public comment, urged the county and municipalities to "work together with the city and municipalities to ensure our area has an ambulance service" and said she feared recent county discussions had been driven by "dollars and cents" rather than lives.
County staff told the committee they had nine municipalities committed to using the county's ambulance services next year, three municipalities were in active negotiations and one municipality (Yuba) had declined and planned to contract with another provider. Staff said contract terms include a minimum payment requirement; if call volume does not meet the contract minimum, a municipality must pay a minimum of $2,500, and a township speaker noted the current per-call payment was $2.25.
At the committee's request, staff also reported a counsel change in the ambulance matter. Administrator reported that attorney Wendell had notified the county of a conflict related to the ambulance matter and would step back from representing both the city and the county on that issue. The administrator said Wendell indicated the conflict could be waived for other business but that he would not continue representing the county in ambulance-related matters.
The committee discussed options for counsel; staff said they had consulted Andy Phillips to cover ambulance representation and that Phillips could support and sign the related resolution. The committee voted to move the resolution regarding counsel representation to the full county board for formal action.
Next steps: staff said attorneys were finishing details on outstanding municipal contracts and that they hoped to have all signed contracts back by Dec. 2; the counsel resolution will proceed to the full county board for consideration.
