Crawford County meeting sets Jan. 27 public hearing to consider declaring EMS an essential service

At a Crawford County meeting, participants moved to set a public hearing for Jan. 27 at 10 a.m. to consider declaring emergency medical services an essential service and placing that question on the ballot. The motion was moved by Kyle and seconded by Jean and passed by voice vote.

The timeline presented to attendees proposed an internal 60-day schedule: a preliminary action within 60 days, a public hearing on Jan. 27 and subsequent advisory-council work if the declaration proceeds. A staff presenter described the sequence as allowing the advisory council to begin planning after the formal votes and declaration are completed.

Kyle moved, "I'd make a motion to set public hearings for January 27 at 10AM," and Jean seconded the motion. Meeting facilitators asked for discussion, then called the voice vote; several attendees responded "aye" and the chair confirmed the hearing date was set. The transcript records no roll-call tally; the passage was recorded as a voice vote.

Staff and attendees discussed how to notify the public. Options mentioned included publishing the notice in a newspaper, posting on the county website, posting on social media and putting notices on the radio to "cover our bases." One attendee suggested multiple notices and repeated postings to increase transparency.

No funding plan or ballot language was included in the record. The presenter said the work of the advisory council and the implementation steps would follow the formal vote and declaration; specific budgetary or legal thresholds were not specified in the transcript.

The meeting set the hearing date and agreed to move forward with public-notice steps; the board reconvened on other agenda items and later adjourned.