Post-meeting release 5/5

Commissioners commit $135,000 to supplement EMS in northern part of the county

[Tiffin, OH May 5, 2021] – The Seneca County Board of Commissioners hosted a special session Wednesday morning to approve a request from Adams and Pleasant townships related to ambulance services.
In May 2016, local elected officials in the northern part of the county chose to contract with the private ambulance service provider, North Central EMS. As a result, Seneca County EMS removed its ambulance from the Green Springs station at that time.
The contract that the Village of Green Springs, Adams and Pleasant townships have with North Central EMS is due to expire at the end of this month. NCEMS offered the entities an extension of the contract, but with a cost increase of $80,000 in year one, $90,000 in year two and $100,000 in year three. Due to the price increase, politicians in Adams and Pleasant asked the commissioners to fund half of the cost in order to continue full-time EMS service from the company over the next few years in these areas. The county’s cost, as agreed upon Wednesday, is to be $40,000 in 2021, $45,000 in 2022 and $50,000 in 2023.
The contract has a six-month termination clause in case the townships and village want to re-join the county system before the three-year period ends.
The commissioners said they hope the move will help to cover citizens in the northern area of the county while also buying time to build out the foundation needed to bring these subdivisions back into a countywide system.
View the resolution here and the contract here.
Commissioner Mike Kerschner said the county is still awaiting federal guidance on how American Rescue Plan funding could be used, but he said he hopes some of that funding can help to improve ambulance services in the county.
“We have to do what is in the best interest of those that put us in office,” Kerschner said, adding that the goal is still the same: to provide ambulance service quickly and professionally to those who need it throughout the county.
The commissioners are to host their routine monthly EMS meeting with stakeholders from across the county at 7 p.m. on Thursday. You can view the meeting on the Seneca County Commissioners Facebook page, or by using the following information to join via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83284774439?pwd=UkhHT0gxeDhxZ1NBMU4zcUF1YzVRQT09

Meeting ID: 832 8477 4439
Passcode: 181322
Dial: (646) 558-8656