07-A EMS 6 Mo. Status Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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Published January 23, 2002 SEGUIN - The Guadalupe County commissioners signed off on an interlocal agreement that will keep the cities of Schertz and Seguin providing emergency medical services to the unincorporated areas of the county into 2004. The interlocal agreement sets payments of $470,000 for the contract period lasting from Feb. 1, 2002, through Sept. 30, 2002. From Oct. 1, 2002, through Sept. 30, 2003, the county would pay $742,000, and for the last portion of the contract, Oct. 1, 2003, through Sept. 30, 2004, the county would pay $783,000. County Treasurer Larry Jones, who backed the agreement, said the EMS deal was about getting quality service at an affordable price. Pct. 3 Commissioner Jim Wolverton voted against the deai, saying he wanted to see a guarantee that the county would get the services from the cities. In the agreement, the cities stipulate that priority will be given to calls within "their own jurisdictional boundaries." Jones said that, while he understood Wolverton's wanting a guarantee, in the 18 years the city of Seguin had been providing EMS to the unincorporated areas, and in the time that Schertz EMS and its predecessors, SAFES, had done the same, they "had never, ever missed a call." Jones also pointed out that the cities have back-up that they can use in the event that all of their units are tied up within the city limits. Seguin Fixe Chief Scotly MyCue said the city already has pre-arranged agreements with surrounding cities like San Marcos and New Braunfels for just such cases. Following the session, Wolverton said he thinks for the amount of money the county will spend, that it needs a guarantee. °We need to know the people we are paying for are going to get picked up," Wolverton said. Pct. 4 Commissioner Wyatt "Butch" Kunde said he had received phone calls from constituents asking the county to stay with the cities for providing EMS service and said the crews work well with the county's first responders. The county also made appointments to the salary grievance committee, z