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EMS director warns of volatile receipts; council signals likely county support for LIT shortfall
Summary
Scott County EMS director described wide monthly swings in ambulance-billing receipts and a potential operating gap; council members said the county is likely to cover the local income tax (LIT) portion this year to stabilize EMS while they refine budget assumptions.
Scott County's EMS director (introduced on the record as Nick) told the council ambulance receipts have been uneven month to month and cautioned the fund is volatile. "I can't sit here and promise you I'm not gonna end up at that last month," he said, noting receipts rose and fell sharply month to month and that some large expenditures (insurance, truck payments) occur early in the year.
Council members discussed contributing to EMS support for the coming year. One council member said they would back county assistance to cover the LIT portion for EMS operations this year: "I feel confident in my vote my opinion will be that the county pays that lit portion for EMS for this year as well." The EMS director said that while he has absorbed many operational costs in prior years, continued county help would be necessary if new payroll or program costs (for example, adding paramedic positions or community paramedicine payroll) are added. The exchange left the council poised to absorb part of EMS’s budget pressure while staff work with Baker Tilly and the department to refine the final appropriations.
