Supervisors extend ambulance contract

    The Washington County Board of Supervisors came to an agreement with Washington County Ambulance Services Tuesday to continue providing ambulance services to the county?s residents beyond Wednesday night. The board voted to extend the current 2008-2010 ambulance contract into the next fiscal year, which begins Thursday. Under the current contract, the Washington County Ambulance Services receives $8,000 per month and the use of two county ambulances. The ambulance service has two ambulances of its own. The current contract would have expired Wednesday at midnight without the extension.

    The supervisors agreed to sign the $150,000 per year contract with Washington County Ambulance Services as soon as the document is finalized by County Auditor Bill Fredrick and County Attorney Barb Edmondson. The new contract would provide Washington County Ambulance Services $12,500 per month and the continued use of the two county ambulances. The supervisors agreed to make the new contract with the ambulance retroactive to July 1 if it is signed after July 1, which means the ambulance service will be paid $12,500 in July, just as if the contract had been signed on July 1.

    About a half dozen members of the ambulance service were in attendance at the meeting, including the director, Richard Young.

    ?This process has been frustrating,? said Young.

    Young remarked that if the supervisors had not approved the extension of the contract, he would have had to cut his staffing.

    ?We would have had to lay off workers,? said Young. ?We would have just had the two ambulances I have, because we would have had to take the two county ambulances back at midnight.?

    Young said that there are still a few disagreements to be ironed out concerning the precise language in the new contract.

For the full story, see the June 29 edition of The Washington Evening Journal