Carthage, IL – A plan to guarantee county-wide ambulance service in Hancock County could be announced soon.
County board vice-chairman Joe Stephenson says representatives from the county's different ambulance services have been working together on an umbrella organization.
He says the current system will need to be replaced in December. That's when the Nauvoo and LaHarpe ambulances become their own services and will no longer be part of the county's system.
The two services will also levy their own tax, instead of being given part of the county's levy.
Stephenson says the delegates are working on a system that would be operated and supervised by all of the different services.
He says they are familiar with state regulations and know what it will take to operate efficiently and "in the black."
He says the groups are not yet ready to release details of what they have planned.
He says currently, the new operation would have its own name ... and would include participation by the LaHarpe and Nauvoo groups.
If details are finalized, Stephenson says they might be announced at next week's county board meeting.
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Currently, the county levies a tax which is distributed among the ambulance services to help pay costs and provide new equipment.
Some of the ambulance services have had trouble finding enough volunteers to staff their operations.