Lee County Commission chair says privatizing EMS is `off the table`
March 23--LEESBURG -- The Lee County Board of Commissioners spent nearly 30 minutes at its voting session Tuesday discussing potential changes to the county's emergency medical services.
The commissioners say they want save to money and avoid reducing services while keeping as many paramedics as possible. How is the question, and the answer has been elusive for several years.
Options range from changes to EMS work schedules to consolidating the service with the county's fire department, or both. Chairman Rick Muggridge admitted the commission still was struggling with the issue, but did make one thing clear -- privatization was not an option.
"There are no plans to privatize Lee County's EMS service and it's safe to say that is off the table," Muggridge said. "The problem is we have holes in our fire and EMS services county-wide and those holes must be filled.
"We have to change our strategy for fire and EMS. My feeling is we need for those services to become one division. Our current model is not working."
Changing work schedules is also proving to be a tricky option.
Lee County currently employs 36 full-time paramedics who work 24/72 schedules, which means they're on duty for 24 hours and then off for the next 72 hours.
One option would be changing the work schedule from 24/72 to 24/48 (one day on duty followed by two days off) and consolidating EMS under one budget with the county fire department, which operates five manned stations. At issue with that schedule change is some personnel employed by Lee EMS also work at EMS departments in other counties, which could result in scheduling conflicts and loss of personnel for the county.
"At some point, we need to have serious public discussions," Commissioner Billy Mathis said. "For the past 17 years, we have been building a fire service for Lee County. Since then, we have added emergency medical services.
"We're not trying to hurt EMS we want to continue what we started years ago and that is provide more services for more people. The point of these discussions is to figure out how to get to where we want to go."
"You don't increase services by reducing staff," Commissioner Dennis Roland said. "It's our responsibility to keep those resources available."
Commissioner Luke Singletary said the key is in striking the right balance between cost and efficiency.
"I think we are running a great service, but that comes with a price. We have to find a balance; nobody wants to reduce services" Singletary said. "We want price and good services. We have more EMT's per capita than most of the counties around us and I am alarmed by the amount of inaccurate info out there."
In other discussion, Muggridge said the county's search for a county manager was progressing. He said the county had entered into a contract with the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government, whose personnel will interview commissioners individually to see what each wants in a county manager.
Muggridge hopes the institute will provide some names within 80 days.
In action items, the commission approved a request from Shelton Petty Jr. to rezone five acres of land On Middle Road South from Ag use to R-3.
The commission also reappointed Bill Williams, Ed Duffy, Heather Jones and Christie Dockery to two-year terms on the Lee County Community Foundation's Board of Trustees, and reappointed Latrisha Bell to a 1-year term on the Lee County Housing Authority.
Copyright 2016 - The Albany Herald, Ga.
