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Sheriff reports steady jail population; EMS shows operating deficit as county readies radio‑tower switch
Summary
At the public‑safety committee meeting the sheriff reported 40 jail bookings in March and an average in‑custody population of 32; ambulance leadership reported a year‑to‑date deficit just over $105,000 and a transition to a new billing vendor. Committee also heard that radio tower work is nearing completion with final drive testing scheduled for fall.
The Richland County Public Safety Committee received routine operational reports from the sheriff’s office and emergency services, including jail statistics, dispatch activity, ambulance finances and a multi‑year radio tower project update.
The sheriff reported 40 jail bookings in March and an average in‑custody population of 32 for the month. Dispatch reported 616 total calls for service in March, including 101 EMS calls, 123 police calls and 16 fire calls. The sheriff said the office issued 51 traffic citations, served 31 civil process papers and made nine transports. The sheriff also reported one sentenced inmate was housed out of county in Grant County for 27 days, with housing and medical costs reported at about $1,486.53 for that placement.
On equipment and fleet, the sheriff said two new patrol vehicles are awaiting outfitting and a third vehicle is pending delivery.
Ambulance service leadership submitted a written financial report (staff could not attend). The packet showed March ambulance calls totaled 103 (versus 109 in March of the prior year) and year‑to‑date calls of 286 compared with 364 a year earlier. The report listed year‑to‑date maintenance expenses of $9,923.85 and an operating deficit of just over $105,000; staff said the service is transitioning to a new billing company to improve collections, rebill prior insurance claims and pursue tax intercepts and other collection methods.
Committee members were also briefed on a long‑running radio tower replacement and programming project. Staff said much of the new equipment has arrived, programming is in place for summer use, and final drive testing for coverage numbers is planned for the fall; public works will present an updated budget to the full county board when numbers are finalized.
No formal votes were taken on these reports; committee members asked staff to include the ambulance financial details in the packet and to return with updates on staffing, billing transition outcomes and final radio‑tower testing.
