News 10 August 2020

Supervisors OK 28E agreement

The Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to approve a new 28E agreement that would change voting procedures for the Chickasaw County Ambulance Council and come up with a 60-40 split when it comes to paying the costs of EMS contracts.
The new 28E agreement would have cities pay 60 percent of contracts for ambulance service while the county would pay 40 percent
But it would also give cities with high populations a larger say when it comes to meetings of the Ambulance Council.
“I think where we’re at is that it’s time to say, ‘Let’s not fight anymore,’” said Carl Salmons, the attorney for the Board of Supervisors in their lawsuit against the county’s cities that calls on municipalities to pay their “fair share” of ambulance contracts. “And let’s come up with a solution that is perpetual.”
Salmons argued strenuously against using Iowa Code Chapter 422D, which would allow the county to go to the voters and ask them to make ambulance an essential service — saying that 422D votes last for only five years and that the city and the county already have deemed EMS as an essential service with the formation of the Ambulance Council in 1989.
Wednesday’s special meeting came two days after the New Hampton City Council approved sending a letter to the county, supporting a special election that would call on voters to consider funding EMS through a combination of local-option income surtax and property tax.
Council members approved the letter prepared by City Attorney Kevin Kennedy after meeting in closed session for 30 minutes at the end of Monday night’s regular City Council meeting.
— For more on this story, see the Aug. 11 Tribune

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