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Resident urges Cedar County to use EMS levy for staffing rather than buildings
Summary
At the June 2 Cedar County Board meeting, resident David Furry told supervisors the county’s EMS levy should prioritize staffing current paramedics over facility or vehicle projects; Chairperson Jon Bell said the board is following voter-approved plans and studies. No action was taken.
David Furry, a Cedar County resident, told the Board of Supervisors on June 2 that the county’s EMS levy should be spent to boost staffing for existing paramedics rather than on buildings or new equipment. Furry said he was representing himself and that he was not aware of an advisory council related to EMS.
Furry told the board he believes the county’s primary EMS shortfall is staffing, not facilities or vehicles, and that levy funds should address that gap. The transcript records that Furry "said the problem wasn't vehicles or buildings but more staffing was needed" and that he "thought the EMS levy should have been spent on staffing what we currently have with paramedics not buildings and other new things." The meeting record does not include a direct quote in quotation marks beyond those paraphrases, so the article reports his comments as described in the minutes.
Chairperson Jon Bell responded that the board is implementing programs approved by Cedar County voters. According to the meeting record, Bell said a study was done to identify county needs and that about 40 meetings were held to educate taxpayers before the current plan was developed. The minutes state no decisions were made following the exchange.
The board did not take formal action on EMS staffing or levy reallocation during the June 2 meeting. The item was discussed as part of the regular agenda and no motions or votes changing EMS funding or direction were recorded in the minutes. The transcript does not show any advisory-council appointment, staff directive, or vote resulting from Furry’s remarks.
Next steps: The minutes record the discussion but list no follow-up motion; the board continued with its other agenda items and adjourned at 9:55 a.m. on June 2. Any formal directions or budget changes would need to be placed on a future agenda for deliberation and vote.
