The southern half of Scott County now officially has Emergency Medical Services.
The Scott County Times reports that the Scott County Commissioners officially accepted the bid of the Winchester EMS for the special service area set up by referendum from this past election.
Commissioner Chair Bob Schafer made the announcement at Monday’s Commissioner meeting saying that the Winchester EMS’s bid for the service area met all the terms and conditions of the contract laid out in the special service area referendum.
The contract will officially begin on September 1st. Winchester EMS Board President Randy Dolen told the Times that staffing the EMS service has already begun. The official acceptance of the bid brings to conclusion a 4-year process that started when the Winchester EMS approached the commissioners to help fund a staff for the all-volunteer run EMS for the southern half of the county. The number of volunteers had dwindled down to 5, mostly part-time people, and current members were looking for ways to sustain the service.
The special service area tax is expected to generate approximately a quarter of a million dollars to be used almost exclusively for salaries of EMTs and paramedics for the service.