Ambulance Council will make counteroffer to Chickasaw Ambulance Service

After an almost 3 1/2-hour meeting, the Chickasaw Ambulance Council decided to make a counteroffer to the Chickasaw Ambulance Service.
More than 120 residents attended the meeting and many spoke about their concerns — ranging from the county not having an ambulance service in place on July 1 to questioning the amount of money the county would have Ambulance Service owner Jeremy McGrath
McGrath told the board members before he left the meeting he would not agree to the terms — which in large part were first put together by Ambulance Council Chairman Steve Geerts and New Hampton Mayor Deb Larsen — they were discussing, council members went ahead to put together a counteroffer.
It calls for a three-year contract that would pay the ambulance service $141,900 a year to hire a full-time paramedic, full-time EMT and cover the cost of paying volunteers a $2 per hour stipend while they are on call.
The contract also gives the Ambulance Council the same “opt-out” language as the ambulance service would have.
Larsen agreed to talk to New Hampton City Attorney Kevin Kennedy to see if he would review the proposed contract, and the Ambulance Board agreed to meet at 5 p.m. on Monday.
The Chickasaw Ambulance Service opted out of the contract this past December, effective June 30.
The Ambulance Council in March put together a request for proposal (RFP) and only McGrath’s service submitted a bid, one that called for $365,000 a year from the county.
After negotiating with an Ambulance Council sub-committee, McGrath agreed to a three-year contrat that called for $165,000 the first year and $365,000 for each of the next two years, but the Ambulance Council rejected that contract last week.
If an agreement can be reached, the Ambulance Council would send it to the Board of Supervisors to have it approved.