Murfreesboro Post
MURFREESBORO WEATHER

City, county spar over emergency services




Ambulance

Ambulance

The City of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County government reportedly are at an impasse over the shared dispatching of emergency services, with the city deciding to explore once again the option of starting its own ambulance service.

The Murfreesboro City Council decided during a workshop meeting Wednesday to allow staff to explore options to start an ambulance service, either through Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department or in a public-private partnership. Staff will report their study recommendations to the council at a future date.

The council had discussed creating an ambulance service in March 2019 amid accusations that EMS was not dispatching MFRD in some cases, as well as allegations EMS was not responding to calls inside the city limits in a timely manner. MFRD frequently sends fire trucks on medical calls inside the city as many firefighters have appropriate training, even as paramedics in some cases.

MFRD Chief Mark Foulks told the council Wednesday that working with Rutherford County EMS is “difficult” and it is hard to “get anything done.”

On Wednesday, Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron emailed county commissioners. He said, “Today, during a special City Council workshop, Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland and Fire Rescue Chief Mark Foulks made some remarks regarding Mayor Ketron’s position on collocation of dispatch among other things.  Mayor Ketron is in the process of preparing a response which will address and clarify the items mentioned for you as well as the public.”

A county spokeswoman did not say when Ketron would release the response.

Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland told the council the city should at least gather information on starting an ambulance program.

Foulks said a program could be set up at little to no cost to city residents, especially if the city partners with a hospital like Vanderbilt University Medical Center or Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital, or letting a private company run the program.

McFarland said he spoke with Ketron Tuesday to tell him the city was “going this route.”

“It’s not our intent as a city to do anything that would hurt the county, but we need to be responsible to our residents,” McFarland said.

McFarland alleged that some personnel within the county emergency services profession “don’t like that firefighters can provide that service,” but that is a national trend.

City Councilmember Eddie Smotherman said MFRD often arrives on scene before an ambulance. He said he spoke to County Commissioner Pettus Read, who is chairman of the Public Safety Committee. A concern that was raised was personality conflicts.

Smotherman said he does not want to duplicate services and has never heard anyone complain about the ambulance service. He said city residents generate 55 percent of the EMS calls but 75 percent of the department’s revenues. EMS would struggle if they lost that revenue and county property taxes – which city residents pay – may increase as a result.

Smotherman questioned why the county would go out and spend an estimated $30 million on a new dispatch center when the city has available space at the police department, and the focus should not be on who would be in charge of dispatch.

Read told the Murfreesboro Post that the county had unanswered questions before making a commitment on shared dispatch. Those questions included who would be in charge and what the cost would be, including for new software. The county was hit with additional, unanticipated charges in a recent meeting, and did not have that covered in the budget. County leaders wanted more answers, he said.

“And we weren’t satisfied just yet and would not sign an agreement until we have all those answers,” Read said. “We’re in the process of budgeting right now. Those costs were not something we had planned on.”

The county has an excellent ambulance service which is always working to improve, and EMS has an average response time of 6.3 minutes, Read said.

“I can’t see where we need two ambulance services here,” Read said.

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