Newton County authorizes application for $350,000 ambulance grant; ESD 6 repayment of startup costs remains open

Newton County commissioners on the bench authorized a letter of agreement that allows the county to apply for a $350,000 grant to purchase an ambulance that the county would transfer at no cost to Emergency Services District No. 6 for operational use.

Reading the agreement, the presiding official told the court: "This letter is county is able to apply for a $350,000 grant to purchase an ambulance," and described conditions in the draft: the ambulance must be used to benefit Newton County residents, cannot be sold or transferred without the county's written consent, and ESD 6 would assume operation and maintenance costs upon transfer.

Separately, the court discussed earlier county-paid legal fees and other start-up expenses the county advanced to establish ESD 6. ESD representatives (introduced in court as Charles Duckworth, president, and Alan Collier, a board member) reported they had begun receiving sales-tax distributions and described timing irregularities in collections. Commissioners and ESD representatives agreed the ESD should provide a line-item accounting of legal fees and other costs county staff advanced so the parties can agree on a repayment schedule when revenues stabilize.

Commissioner Brown moved to table immediate collection action and to seek documentation breaking down what the county paid on behalf of ESD 6; the court approved tabling that recovery discussion and asked staff to return with detailed records so any repayment could be verified and tracked.

Next steps: the judge's office and county staff will finalize and execute the letter of agreement to pursue the ambulance grant and will coordinate with ESD 6 to produce documentation of start-up costs for future repayment discussion.