The Greene County Board and Boyd Memorial Hospital in Carrollton remain at odds over a contract to fund countywide ambulance services.
According to reporting by River Country News, the current contract expires November 9. During its October 7 meeting, the board discussed a finance committee proposal to renew the agreement for one year at the current 320-thousand-dollar levy, with 90-thousand dollars set aside for an ambulance.
Boyd Memorial CEO Stace Holland rejected the proposal, saying the hospital was not given advance notice of the terms and that the arrangement differs from the past decade of agreements. Boyd has held the contract for the service since 1999.
Holland proposed increasing the tax levy to as much as a quarter of a percent, saying the ambulance service has lost more than 300-thousand dollars this year and needs additional revenue to break even.
Board members cited limits on tax increases under PTELL, the state’s property tax limitation law. Finance Chair Josh Lawson also noted Greene County’s ambulance levy is among the highest in the state, despite the service being one of the smallest county-run operations.
The county currently spends about 44 dollars per resident on ambulance service, compared with 12 dollars in the next-closest countywide-funded system.
Board members agreed to let Holland take the current proposal back to the hospital board. County Board Chair Earlene Castleberry says the county will put the service out for bid if the hospital rejects the offer.
However, a countywide referendum approved in the 1970s requires Greene County to fund ambulance service, meaning the board could still be obligated to accept a bid exceeding the current levy.
The Greene County Board is expected to take the contract again tonight Oct. 21 at 6 pm at the Greene County Courthouse.