By Tim Jamison
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
WATERLOO, Iowa — Antiquated ambulance licensing rules have been wiped from the city’s ordinance books.
Waterloo City Council members voted unanimously Monday to repeal the ordinance, which was adopted in 1968 but had not been enforced in many years.
“This was just recently discovered,” said Safety Services Director Dan Trelka. “There’s no need to have it on the books.”
The Iowa Department of Public Health now regulates emergency medical service providers. Trelka said the old city ordinance, while including provisions that no longer make sense, may actually conflict with the state regulations.
Chief of Fire Services Pat Treloar said neither Waterloo Fire Rescue ambulances nor the ambulance service at Covenant Medical Center were even following the city ordinance.
The rules required a lot of approvals from the police chief and placed the city clerk in charge of certain billing issues.
“It was a very outdated 46-year-old ordinance,” Treloar said.
The city code required every ambulance operating in the city to pay an annual $20 licensing fee and to be inspected by the chief of police at least once every six months. It included provisions requiring a certain number of towels and linens sets to be part of the ambulance equipment.
Treloar noted the state provides strict oversight of ambulance services.
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©2014 Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa)