Franklin County to Vote on Proposed Ambulance Ordinance

After having been tabled for a year, Franklin County is expected to institute a new ordinance that will require owners and operators of independent ambulance services to adhere to strict guidelines or face stiff fines.

The ordinance was proposed by EMS Director Terry Harris in October 2012, but tabled after one commissioner expressed concerns.

The Ambulance Services Ordinance would establish minimum standards of service for ambulances operating in Franklin County and is designed to prevent unnecessary delays of service.

Additionally, the new ordinance would require all independent ambulance services to register with the county EMS, submit to regular inspections, and have a permanent base in Franklin County.

They would also be required to operate 24×7, have a backup unit if needed, and have radio communications using Franklin County e911 for all emergency calls.

But last year, Commissioner Clint Harper said he had reservations about the ordinance.

“On the surface, it appears that this is just hampering businesses from coming in and providing the service,” Harper said. “There are state regulations that ambulance services, including the county (EMS) have to abide by. I could be wrong, but from what I see, it appears that the county is trying to keep ambulance services out.” 

However, at their recent work session,  Harper said he now supports the ordinance.

“Knowing more about what’s going on and the necessity, I’m actually the one that brought it to Billy (Morse) for the board to move on at this time,” Harper said last week. “I think this would be good for the county.”

Commissioner Jeff Jacques said he also supports the new law, but said he still has concerns regarding the penalties for non-compliance.

 “It initially had a punitive penalty for a business not operating in compliance with the ordinance,” Jacques said. “The one request I had is that we modify that and at least give them a couple of weeks in order to get in compliance with our ordinance or relocate without punitive action.”

The original penalty was an immediate $1,000 fine, but Harris told the board at their work session last week that he had modified that section of the ordinance.

“I broke it up into three different chances and made the first one a warning,” Harris told the board. “The only reason for this ordinance is that if a (an independent ambulance) a service is going to operate in this county, that they provide service to the level that we provide it.”

The board is expected to pass the ordinance at their regular meeting next week.