Ambulance contract gets fine-tuning

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Four commissioners of the Western Carroll County Ambulance District met for a special meeting May 2 to finalize points in the new contract between WCCAD and the city of Eureka Springs for the Eureka Springs Fire Department Emergency Medical Services to provide ambulance service for the western part of the county.

Chair Sam Ward told commissioners he spoke with Mayor Butch Berry, and Berry addressed the current contract which calls for 90 percent of calls to have response times of 15 minutes or less. All parties have agreed this is an unrealistic expectation for the entire area to be serviced, so Berry suggested Chief Nick Samac could drive to the far reaches of the district to determine a fair response time for getting to the most distant points. Berry also said positioning an ambulance and crew full-time in Holiday Island would not be feasible.

Ward had suggested setting a stiff penalty for every month ESFD is not compliant with the contract, but Berry did not agree. Ward commented the only other leverage the commission would have to ensure compliance would be canceling the contract.

Commissioner Ken Mills was not convinced about assessing penalties because, for one thing, he was not sure how to arrive at a fair amount. Commissioner Marie Lee said they could put in the contract the commission would give written notice of their concerns and expect a written response stating corrective actions within 60 days. In addition, the commission could assess quarterly how many noncompliant events there have been.

Commissioner David Carlisle agreed the commission must enforce stipulations in the contract, but, in his opinion, they were not dealing with a recalcitrant entity or someone trying to hoodwink them. He said the contract could have behavior change language to address recurring problems.

Mills said since the contract is with the city, the commission should address any problem by going to the mayor and asking what he is going to do about it. Lee commented the mayor’s response should be to go to Samac and tell him to fix the problem.

Ward mentioned reporting errors have been a problem for ten months. “It poisons the entire meeting,” he said, when arithmetic is wrong time after time. He emphasized it has not been just one time, and the arithmetic is not that sophisticated.

Mills suggested commissioners mention concerns at a meeting, then write a letter to the mayor. Lee added the letter should make clear the corrective actions they expect. Mills also pointed out the commission is a county entity, so Judge Sam Barr should know about noncompliance occurrences.

Commissioners discussed ways to improve the reporting form so they get the information they want easily until Mills eventually commented, “I think it looks pretty good.”

Ward agreed. “This is a great second stab at it,” he said.

Ward will incorporate corrections into the draft of the contract and proceed with negotiations.