FCMC to Contribute $100,000 to Ambulance Subsidy Payment
While Floyd County and the City of Charles City have not yet officially renewed their contract with AMR Ambulance, they know they have some additional financial help if and when they do.
The City and County currently split the cost of $200,000 to subsidize the private ambulance service. However, that subsidy is expected to jump to around $415,000 in the 2023-24 fiscal year starting July 1st.
During an ambulance commission meeting Monday night, Floyd County Medical Center CEO Dawnette Willis, a commission member, informed the group that the hospital’s Board of Trustees has approved contributing $100,000 to the subsidy payment for the upcoming fiscal year. Willis said the money would come out of the FCMC operating expenses, but is only a one-year commitment while the City and County figure out an alternative.
Which could be starting a county-run public ambulance service like Chickasaw County did with its new EMS Department that began operation January 1st. If that’s the route taken, the consensus of the ambulance commission was to pursue another EMS tax levy to generate revenue for the service, a measure that was defeated at the polls last November.
To attempt it again would require the Floyd County Supervisors to again declare EMS an essential service and go through the lengthy process to get it on the ballot by this November.
Until the City and County could get its own ambulance service up and running, they’ll likely sign a new contract with AMR that would include a buyout clause. However, before signing a new agreement, the ambulance commission will seek clarification in some contract language. They also hope to get more detail on the financials to support AMR’s request for the subsidy payment of $415,000.
