BENTONVILLE — A proposed contract to pay Bentonville for ambulance service to unincorporated areas of Benton County faces an uncertain future.
Mayor Bob McCaslin sent the proposal to County Judge Bob Clinard, who passed it on to justices of the peace. McCaslin’s Jan. 9 cover letter asks the county to sign and return the contract within 30 days.
The contract stipulates the county will pay Bentonville $400 for each ambulance call that results in transport by the Bentonville for non-Bentonville residents. The county will not face fees for any Bentonville resident who requires transport while in the county areas.
Alderman Bill Burkhart said the contract provides a good value to county residents serviced by the city.
“It seems like an exorbitant expense on our own citizens. It’s still far cheaper for the county than setting up their own emergency services,” Burkhart said.
He asserted the city will not leave “someone stranded over money,” regardless of the outcome.
“It’s reasonable to get in writing some type of understanding instead of us continuing to do it for free,” Burkhart said. “But even if we don’t make an arrangement, if we get the call, we’re going.”
Clinard said the justices of the peace agreed Tuesday to refer the proposal to the Quorum Court’s Public Safety Committee. The committee could send the matter on to Quorum Court, to another committee or keep it on its agenda. The committee won’t meet until Feb. 9, according to chairman Frank Winscott, and the Quorum Court couldn’t consider the matter before Feb. 23 if the proposal was forwarded.
Winscott said he’s not inclined to rush into an agreement with Bentonville until the county receives and can review results of a study of the county’s ambulance system.
The county and several smaller cities are paying $30,000 for the study that’s expected to take two months to complete. Marshal Watson, county public safety administrator, said the study and paying Bentonville and other providers for service are separate issues.
AT A GLANCE
Ambulance Service
Benton County budgeted $100,000 to reimburse ambulance service providers in 2011 and increased that to $150,000 in 2012. The county also paid $30,000 to have The Ludwig Group study the emergency medical services system and propose five-year and 10-year plans for the county.
Source: Staff Report
“I can’t say that it will impact the study at all,” Watson said of Bentonville’s request. “For all practical purposes, these are two separate issues. The study is focused on a long-term, sustainable EMS service. The other issue is providing Bentonville and the other providers a short-term subsidy. We’re handling those as two distinct challenges.”
Watson said Bentonville is one of several entities providing ambulance service in unincorporated areas — and not the largest one. By volume of calls, Rogers, Gravette and Siloam Springs ambulances all responded to more calls than Bentonville, according to 2010 data. According to that information, Rogers responded to 445 calls in the county, Gravette 404 and Siloam Springs 396. Bentonville responded to 197 calls in 2010 and Springdale had 171 calls in Benton County. Pea Ridge had 138 calls and Bella Vista had 50.
Watson said the county has set aside $150,000 to reimburse the providers in 2012. The county budgeted $100,000 for ambulance services in 2011. Watson estimated if the county accepted Bentonville’s proposal and had identical agreements with the other providers, the county’s cost would exceed $720,000, allowing for a 5 percent increase over the 2010 call amount.
Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards said he received Bentonville’s proposal and he sent it to the city attorney for review be the City Council considers it. Edwards said Centerton’s cost would be about $100,000 a year, based on the 2010 numbers.
“If this were in effect now we’d already owe Bentonville $3,600,” Edwards said. “That’s just through the 10th.”
Edwards said he has discussed the contract with McCaslin and doesn’t feel rushed to agree to it. He said he wants to keep his city provided with ambulance service, but also wants to see what the county study reveals.
“We’re doing the EMS study right now and maybe when that’s done things will change,” he said. “We just don’t know yet.”
Winscott said he’s also inclined to wait for study results before entering a contract.
“Obviously, Bentonville is only one element of the whole countywide program,” Winscott said. “I really want to see his study. We’ve given him $30,000 and I think we owe it to him and to ourselves to see what he comes up with.”
Rogers Fire Chief Tom Jenkins said he sees progress and feels no need for his city to push for any particular formula. Jenkins said Rogers began working on the issue of reimbursement in 1981 and has resolved its issues with Cave Springs, Lowell and Little Flock. He said Wednesday he just finished a study questionnaire and is willing to see what comes out it.
“The county clearly is taking this problem seriously,” Jenkins said. “They’ve started to fund the problem last year and again this year. That’s historically significant, given that this is a 32-year-old problem.”