BENTONVILLE — A panel of Benton County justices of the peace recommended on Wednesday the county set aside $300,000 for rural ambulance service in the 2013 budget, doubling the amount in 2012.
The Public Safety Committee unanimously approved a motion to send the $300,000 to the Finance Committee for inclusion in the budget.
Benton County has agreed to pay ambulance service providers a token amount in both 2011 and 2012 while the county works on a solution to providing emergency medical service to the unincorporated areas of the county. In 2011, the county paid $100,000 and increased that to $150,000 in 2012.
Justice of the Peace Steve Curry made the motion to increase the amount to $300,000 for 2013 and increase it $150,000 each year until the amount reaches a figure agreed upon by the county and the ambulance service providers.
“$150,000 shows a good faith effort,” said Justice of the Peace Patrick Carr said of the increase. “$150,000 is a lot of money, I know that. But let’s move on. We are spending too many years discussing this.”
Residents are served by eight ambulance providers — seven cities and the Northeast Benton County Fire Department. Citing a provision of state law, Bentonville asked the county pay some part of its costs for providing service outside the city. Bentonville proposed a contract calling for $400 for each call that results in a patient being transported in a city ambulance, agreeing to waive the cost if the patient is a Bentonville resident.
Centerton, Highfill, Cave Springs and the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport have all signed agreements with the city and are paying that rate.
The county has asked all of the ambulance service providers for information on their costs and what reimbursement rate they might seek. County Judge Bob Clinard said he thinks state law only requires a mutually agreed upon contract and the rate is subject to negotiation. In Wednesday’s meeting, Marshal Watson, emergency services administrator, told the justices of the peace paying the providers $400 a call could, based on projected increases in of calls, cost $794,880 by 2015.
Conversely, Watson said, a county-operated ambulance system could have potential annual costs of about $2.2 million in 2014 with revenue somewhere between $600,000 and $1.2 million, depending on how many of the municipalities contracted with the county.
Justice of the Peace Tom Allen questioned the $400 rate, saying Gravette has indicated a willingness to accept the county’s current subsidy. Allen said the county should study the differences between the Gravette operation and Bentonville’s to determine why the cost difference is so great.
“We have one municipality that says ‘We don’t need the money, we’re doing fine.’” Allen said of Gravette. “Maybe you should look at somebody who’s making it work.”
Watson pointed to several differences in the operating model of Gravette’s ambulance service, which he said used part-time employees who received a stipend, compared to full-time employees in most other departments. Clinard said the differences from one operation to the next will help shape the negotiation setting the cost to the county and he expects there will be different rates for different providers.
“I’m going to tell you, this cost is elusive,” Clinard said. “Every provider has a different formula for deciding what it costs. I don’t know what the number is going to be, but I believe it’s negotiable.”