By Monte Mitchell
Winston-Salem Journal
YADKINVILLE, N.C. — Taxpayers in Yadkin County pay more per resident for ambulance and 911 services than residents of neighboring counties, and county officials are trying to figure out why.
Ron Lewis, who retired last week as Burke County’s manager after a 34-year career in local government, started an evaluation of Yadkin’s EMS, 911 communications system, the fire marshal’s office and emergency management office on Monday.
Lewis is acting as interim public-safety director. He’s working for free this month, and will receive $2,000 a month in February and March.
“If I can’t save you what you give me, then I’m going to give you the pay back,” he told Yadkin County commissioners Monday. “My goal here is to save you more than my pay, and you hold me to that.”
Lewis, who was Yadkin County’s first emergency-services director in the 1980s, said he has already done preliminary work that showed the county has a fine emergency service. He said his purpose is to tweak it and make it the best it can be.
“Even if there aren’t tremendous savings, having an outside pair of eyes confirming we have the best system we can have will be worth what we pay you,” commission Chairman Kevin Austin told Lewis.
Yadkin County’s EMS budget is $3.1 million this fiscal year, in a county with a general fund budget of $36.9 million. County Manager Aaron Church said that at 8.5 percent, that’s a higher percentage of the general fund than in 19 surrounding counties.
For example, in Yadkin County, EMS costs an average of $83 a resident, while it costs $47 a resident in Wilkes County.
Yearly 911 communications costs in Yadkin County are about $20 a resident, the highest rate when compared with 17 other local counties, according to Church’s data.
Church said he started the study after the sheriff’s office asked that the county take over 911 operations.
Jim Haynes, who was the interim Yadkin County manager before Church was promoted to the job last year, served as a consultant for the EMS/911 review and wrote a memo that was included in a presentation to county commissioners.
“I have reviewed the EMS system cost comparisons you have supplied and concur that the Yadkin County numbers seem terribly out of line,” Haynes wrote. “As you know, the cost of service delivery is affected by many factors, but from our discussions, I cannot imagine a simple answer to why the costs are showing so high for Yadkin.”
Lewis is expected to figure that out and present a final report to commissioners on April 4.
Copyright 2011 Winston-Salem Journal