BENTONVILLE -- The rising cost of doing business with outsiders could make a county-operated ambulance service a more attractive option, Benton County officials say.
The county's Committee of the Whole on Tuesday recommended putting aside about $288,000 to buy and equip an ambulance and to improve a building owned by the Hickory Creek Fire Department to house the ambulance and serve as an emergency medical services station for the county's southeastern corner.
Ambulance service
Benton County negotiates annual contracts for ambulance service with the cities that cover the unincorporated areas of the county. Bentonville, Bella Vista, Rogers, Pea Ridge, Gravette and Siloam Springs remain as ambulance service providers for 2016 with Springdale having notified the county it will end service outside the city. The county also has provided some support to the Northeast Benton County Fire Department for its ambulance service. For 2015, the county budgeted $1.2 million for rural ambulance service, with a 0.2-mill property tax for emergency medical services generating about $800,000 and a voluntary tax for emergency medical services expected to bring in about $230,000. Costs in excess of that revenue are covered by transfers from the county’s general fund.
Source: Benton County
The county will license the ambulance and has agreed in principle with Mercy Health System to operate the service in that area. Marshall Watson, county public safety administrator, said the county and Mercy still are in talks, but the estimated cost to have Mercy provide the manpower and oversee the operation is $466,000. That cost is in addition to the $288,000 for the ambulance, building improvements, equipment and supplies, he said.
The county has worked with area cities to provide rural ambulance service. Springdale, which served the Hickory Creek area, notified the county it will stop serving areas outside its city limits at the end of this year. Justices of the peace agreed working with Mercy is the best option to make service available in 2016, but several indicated they want to monitor the cost and could support a county-owned and operated system.
Pat Adams, justice of the peace for District 6, repeatedly has said over the past few years he thinks the county could run a system for less money.
"I was pleased that some of the other JPs are more open to the idea of a county ambulance system," Adams said. "Now, do I think Benton County is ready to start running its own service on Jan. 1, 2016? No. That's why I am supporting the Mercy option. If they can run it for a year or two years that'll give us time to educate the county on what it's going to take to run an ambulance service."
Having the prospect of a county-run system may slow the increase in cost he would otherwise expect to see from the cities, Adams said. The county budgeted about $945,000 in 2014 and $1.2 million in 2015 for ambulance service from the cities. Those services will have to weigh the loss of county money when asking for increased payments, Adams said.
"I think the costs will go down if Benton County operates its own service," Adams said. "These cities will be losing money, some of them $300,000 or $400,000. That's a hit to any city's budget. I know there's costs involved, but I believe we can make this more economical or knock the prices down from the other providers."
The county has been mindful of the increasing cost of ambulance service, County Judge Bob Clinard said. A county-owned and operated system always has been a possibility if the cost of working with the cities exceeds the estimated cost of a county system, he said.
Recent estimates for a county system with five ambulances have put startup costs at $3.5 million with operating costs at more than $1.2 million over the first five years.
"It all depends on what the other providers do going forward," Clinard said. "We want to provide the best possible service at the lowest reasonable cost. Our cost is going to be affected by what the providers will charge us. They pretty much have a monopoly right now. That limits our options in negotiations."
Susan Anglin, justice of the peace for District 9, doesn't want the county to get into the ambulance business, but said there may be no choice if the cost continues to go up.
"We're kind of in a box as far as ambulance service goes," Anglin said. "We don't have any other options that are not going to cost a lot of money. The dollar amount is strangling me."
Kurt Moore, justice of the peace for District 13, said after years of haggling with the cities over their costs, and often criticizing them for what they charge, the county has learned the cost of ambulance service is "pretty close" to what city officials said it was. Moore thinks city services will remain the county's best option even as costs increase.
"At this point, I'm not ready to go there," Moore said of a county-run ambulance service."No matter how much we're paying the cities, I think it's still going to be cheaper than doing it ourselves. They have the system in place and we don't.
"Nobody in county administration is saying we're being ripped off by the cities. I feel confident the cost is going to go up, no matter who runs the system. Do I like it? No. Does anyone care? No."
NW News on 08/17/2015