By Brooke McAfee
The Evening News and the Tribune
FLOYD COUNTY, Ind. 鈥� Floyd County officials continue to consider options for the future of ambulance service, including a potential countywide EMS program.
Last year, the county鈥檚 EMS task force issued a recommendation for a standalone, countywide ambulance service. Currently, the county contracts with AmeriPro Health and Highlander Fire Protection District for EMS with contracts running through 2026.
Floyd County Commissioner Jason Sharp feels it is time for the county to 鈥渢ake charge of our own system.鈥�
鈥淚 like the idea of being able to ensure clinical excellence, oversight of the budget by the council and someone running the agency that鈥檚 chosen by the commissioners,鈥� he said.
He said with the financial uncertainty associated with the state鈥檚 new tax reform law, his priority is the 鈥渟ervices that we are expected to provide very strong and very solid, and this is one of those services that is essential.鈥�
Floyd County Councilwoman Denise Konkle said she thinks 鈥渢hings are going pretty well the way they are鈥� with AmeriPro and Highlander.
鈥淚 would like to see us look at the cost of continuing what we鈥檙e doing versus what you are suggesting because cost is going to be one of the main decision points here, so I think we really need to take a look at that,鈥� she said.
Sharp asked Konkle to describe her metric of 鈥渄oing well.鈥� Konkle said she spoke with Highlander, and the department seems 鈥渢o be on top of everything.鈥�
鈥淔rom what I hear, AmeriPro also seems to be doing things pretty well,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if there are tweaks we need to work out in the services that we are providing, then I think we need to work the tweaks out, but I think we need to look at the numbers. That鈥檚 where I鈥檓 at. Let鈥檚 look at the numbers.鈥�
Al Knable , president of the Floyd County Commissioners, said the county will need to receive input from Highlander leadership on whether the district wants to continue providing fire-based EMS, and he noted that it does not have a permanent fire chief at this time.
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 have buy-in from that lead official out there, then it鈥檚 not going to be able to continue as is,鈥� he said.
Sharp noted the public safety LIT that provides a funding mechanism for EMS and other services. The LIT went into effect this year, and based on the new law, it will go away in 2028, he said.
The proposed countywide system involves writing off leftover costs after insurance using this funding mechanism, according to Sharp.
鈥淏ecause essentially, the people are already paying for the service, so they charge the insurance, and whatever鈥檚 left over is written off the service,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I want to see here. That鈥檚 a very clear return on investment. That鈥檚 something we can鈥檛 get from the other system.鈥�
Both start-up and continuing costs are considerations for an EMS service. Sharp said if Highlander were to move away from ambulance service, the county could potentially buy back ambulances the Floyd County Council directed to the fire district.
鈥淚f we were to get those back if they weren鈥檛 going to provide the service anymore and [we] buy back some of the equipment they already purchased 鈥� because they bought some really nice equipment 鈥� that could help reduce ultimately what our start-up cost would be,鈥� Sharp said. 鈥淎nd it actually would be very mutually beneficial to them because they鈥檙e sitting on quite a mountain of debt right now.鈥�
Konkle said the county needs to have a better understanding of how the new legislation will affect taxes. There will be a significant restructuring of local income taxes as part of the new tax reform law, including the dissolution of existing LITs and new ones taking their place.
She wants the council to meet with the commissioners for an in-depth discussion on the financials, including projections for different scenarios. She said her goal is to make 鈥渄ata-based decisions.鈥�
鈥淲e can鈥檛 make decisions one by one,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e really need to sit here with all the pieces of the puzzle in place and make decisions with all of those pieces to the puzzle put on the table.鈥�
Knable said there are some services he believes 鈥渨e need to be ready to pay a premium for.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 not always about the least expensive way to get from point A to point B,鈥� he said. 鈥� Often it is...it comes down to where you place these kinds of services on the hierarchy.鈥�
Floyd County Council President Danny Short said the county already has projections for the proposed countywide EMS options, as well as estimates from its financial advisor on the new legislation.
鈥淪o we鈥檝e got a jumpstart on that, so we鈥檙e not necessarily walking in blind to a plan,鈥� he said.
Sharp noted that the expanding capabilities of EMS will save lives.
鈥淎nd when someone you love goes blue and they can鈥檛 breathe or their heart stops, I鈥檓 sure that you want the best, the brightest and the top-of-the-line equipment that you can ever possibly imagine on that day, and that day happens thousands of times.鈥�
Konkle responded that we 鈥渁ll want that 鈥� every one of us.鈥�
鈥淓very one of us wants that, but we鈥檝e got to [get] some numbers,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 our fiduciary responsibility to the county to put the numbers together to see what can be afforded with what we have, or do we have to raise taxes, or do we have the money to do it with what we have now, and it can鈥檛 be piecemeal.鈥�
Sharp said he wants to make decisions 鈥渂efore we鈥檙e forced to enter into another contract,鈥� and he emphasized that 鈥渁t some point, somebody鈥檚 got to take some action.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 no need to kill something with discussion by committee for a time going on and on and on,鈥� Sharp said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e discussed multiple aspects of this going forward, and I鈥檝e said this a lot of times 鈥� one of the most difficult things about getting a service up and running is getting the equipment.鈥�
鈥淕oing and buying an ambulance is not like going out to your neighborhood dealership and buying a Toyota . Some of these 鈥� depending on what manufacturer you use 鈥攕ome of these things can take a year and a half to be delivered.鈥�
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