By Mark J. Armstrong
Kerrville Daily Times
KERR COUNTY, Texas — Kerr County commissioners announced Monday they will meet with city officials again next week to restart negotiations on a long-term EMS contract and indicated they felt a solution was close at hand.
“This isn’t a shot in the dark,” said Kerr County Commissioner Jonathan Letz. “We think we can make this work. We are still working two paths, but our preference has always been this.”
Letz made Monday’s motion, which was unanimously approved, to delay seeking proposals from private ambulance companies for service outside the city limits. He said he and other commissioners have been talking privately with their various counterparts at City Hall and that they felt an agreement could be reached to both sides’ satisfaction.
Other commissioners echoed his comments.
“This is a deal we need to make, and certainly everyone on the court thinks so,” said Commissioner Tom Moser.
“My only comment is this has been going on way too long,” said Commissioner Bruce Oehler. “This needs to be settled, because this isn’t a normal issue. This is health and safety. This isn’t like catching dogs or patching potholes.”
County and city leaders have been at odds over ambulance services outside the city limits for almost as long as the two have contracted for those services. It’s been nearly 10 years since city and county officials first sat down to hammer out a long-term agreement, which fell apart a few years later and nearly completely collapsed three years ago when the current agreements were reached.
Since then, county commissioners began a process of looking for alternatives to the current agreements, which must be renegotiated every few years. Commissioners first looked at creating a countywide emergency service district, which was rejected by voters, and then began a process of seeking proposals from private ambulance companies.
So far, the county has not advertised for proposals, but the current contract with the city ends Sept. 30.
On the city’s side, earlier this month City Manager Todd Parton gave council members their first look at a city budget that did not include the nearly $1 million contribution from the county for ambulance and emergency services outside the city limits and some fire support services. Parton said the city would not cut staff or reduce the number of fire stations if the county did not renew that agreement, but he also said the city stood ready to extend the current deal if it was requested.
Commissioners did not give any indication as to how this round of negotiations would be any different than in previous years, but there were strong suggestions that it needed to be.
“This doesn’t need to be holding over the public’s head every three years,” Oehler said.
Commissioner H.A. “Buster” Baldwin, who has been leading commissioners’ meetings since the death of County Judge Pat Tinley earlier this year, said he would like to see everyone involved focused on the health and welfare of all of the constituents and not just focused on the costs.
“This body here should be willing to increase what we’ve been giving. They have their number and we should be willing to move somewhere to meet them,” Baldwin said.
Commissioners voted to set the meeting for 9 a.m. March 3 at the Union Church building. Before the end of the meeting, commissioners court coordinator Jody Grinstead reported that she had talked with City Secretary Brenda Craig about setting a city council agenda for that same time.
Letz also said that the EMS agreement would be the only item on the county’s agenda for that meeting, meaning no other issues, including other interlocal agreements, could be discussed by commissioners at that time.