Carthaage, IL – Hancock County now has a new board to govern its countywide ambulance service.
Terry Cameron of Warsaw chairs the group which was appointed by the county board.
He says the group will distribute the roughly $92,000 per year the county raises through its ambulance tax.
The Hancock County EMS Board has representatives from ambulance services, fire departments that offer a first-responder service and from the county's dispatch center.
Cameron says the group will begin operating with the county's new fiscal year Dec. 1.
He says the proposed budget includes $20,000 for a part-time coordinator which would be recommended by the board.
He says the county had a full-time coordinator who was only on the job for a few months after different ambulance services complained about what they saw as unfair distribution of the county's tax money to different services.
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The LaHarpe and Nauvoo ambulance services, which have voted to levy their own tax and become independent of the county, are taking part in the new board. After July, they will do their own billing and collect the allowable ambulance tax. That will replace what they would have received from the county.
The board will work out agreements for adjoining services to cover for each other when one ambulance is busy or out of service.
The Lomax Ambulance Service is also taking part on the board because it helps cover the Dallas City area.
Cameron says the board plans to support fledgling first responder units in the Plymouth and Augusta areas. He believes service in both towns should be available within three months.