Washington County Regional Ambulance Authority-Central EMS To Consider Improving Service Before Allowing Service in More Cities

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Washington County ambulance service must improve its service and assess costs before allowing more cities to join, city mayors decided Wednesday.

"We need to improve our own system," Lioneld Jordan, Fayetteville mayor, said.

Washington County Regional Ambulance Authority-Central EMS Board of Directors asked its executive committee to look at what's needed to improve ambulance times and services in cities already part of the inter-local agreement. Deciding whether to allow new cities to join the authority was put off. Another board meeting is scheduled for February.

"We are missing calls right now," David Dayringer, Fayetteville fire chief, said. "That's already happening -- that we can't be everywhere we want to be."

The ambulance service also doesn't always meet its time goals, Dayringer said. Between 84 to 87 percent of the time, the authority is at the scene of an emergency in 8 minutes and 59 seconds, the standard for inside cities, said Becky Stewart, authority chief.

The authority's move to examine its current needs comes after mayors from smaller cities questioned the fairness of the authority's price estimates, equipment needs the system already has and how much authority members pay for service.

Springdale plans to stop providing ambulance service to Tontitown, Elm Springs and parts of Johnson and Washington County on Jan. 1.

On Wednesday, mayors questioned options for joining the ambulance authority, asking about everything from a bank loan to using part-time staff. Tontitown and Elm Springs mayors said they cannot afford the combined estimated $797,800 price tag for this year or the recurring annual cost of about $573,000.

Tontitown must pay about $265,400 for service this year under the recommended option for two ambulances, which would start running next year. The city, which pays the highest amount among the new entities, would pay about $190,700 in annual, recurring costs, according to authority records.

The city is facing budget cuts and doesn't have the money, Tontitown Mayor Paul Colvin, Jr., said.

"The question for us, sitting on this side of the fence, is not a question of whether we want to be a part of the authority -- it's whether we can afford it," Colvin said.

Elm Springs is also asking for help. The city will have costly sewer problems to fix this year, Mayor Harold Douthit said.

"I'm looking for some help," he said.

Douthit and Colvin also questioned the fairness of having to continue to pay a steep price after the first two years.

The ambulances will be used for other Washington County cities, which benefits all authority members, Colvin said. Yet, other members pay $4 per capita based mostly on 2000 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, Douthit said. He calculated Elm Springs residents will pay about $78 per capita versus the $4.

The new cities also will use the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau figures, according to authority records.

"How can I justify that?" Douthit asked.

The inter-local agreement will be revisited in December 2016, Dayringer said.

The challenge of providing quality ambulance service is serious enough to attract the attention of Gov.-Elect Asa Hutchinson, said Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, who attended the meeting Wednesday. The state may be able to provide a grant or otherwise allocate money to help provide ambulance service, Woods said.

The ambulance service is a lean operation, Stewart said. In the past two weeks, all ambulances were out and mutual aid was needed about 10 times because of influenza calls, Stewart said.

John Luther, county emergency management department director, said the authority should be looking to improve as a whole, not just seeking to maintain the current service level.

"We're maintaining the service level with quite a bit more money," Luther said. "I see that it would be good to improve it in all areas -- that should be the target."

NW News on 01/08/2015