Knott County agrees to one‑year ambulance contract extension and approves purchase of two ambulances

Knott County Fiscal Court voted June 17 to give itself time to resolve an ambulance-services dispute by approving a one‑year contract extension and by authorizing purchase of two ambulances with single‑county Local Government Aid (LGA) funds.

Speaker 1 told the court the existing contract had expired and that the provider proposed a replacement contract at $36,000 per month. "They asked for 36,000 a month on a new contract," Speaker 1 said while summarizing vendor negotiations and a rejected county counteroffer. Commissioners expressed concern about the budgetary impact of that fee and discussed county-operated alternatives.

Commissioner Wallace and others urged caution and recommended exploring creating a county-operated EMS service to avoid repeated contract disputes. Speaker 3 and other commissioners said a one‑year extension would provide the necessary runway to evaluate options, build billing capacity and consider whether the county can operate its own service.

To maintain immediate coverage, the court approved by voice vote a motion expressing intent to sign a one‑year extension while staff continues negotiations and planning. Separately, the court approved a resolution to use single‑county LGA funds to purchase two ambulances to improve local capacity; the purchase motion carried by voice vote.

Minutes show follow-up tasks: staff to engage with the ambulance authority for contractual terms, to investigate costs and billing for a possible county-operated service, and to complete procurement for the two ambulances. The new provider contract, if signed, would begin November 1 per the timeline presented.

The court did not adopt a long‑term staffing or billing plan on the record; commissioners said they will use the one‑year period to analyze options, costs and operational requirements before making a multi-year commitment.