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6 September 2023
KINGMAN, Kan. (KSNW) —The Kingman County Commission says it is time for the County to take over running EMS operations in the county instead of paying a portion of the costs.
The City of Kingman says it would cost roughly $1 million for the County to purchase EMS equipment and the building from the City.
City officials are not interested in giving up management.
The county commission says they can afford the purchase by taking payment in lieu of taxes from a proposed large-scale wind farm. They say they have a contract with the energy company Invenergy and that the company is ready to build.
Kingman County commissioners declined to go on camera, but they released a letter on social media that, in part, reads, “…if the county does not meet the current financial demands of the city of Kingman, it will refuse to provide EMS and Rescue services outside the borders of the city of Kingman.”
Find the full letter below:
The County is also proposing absorbing the Kingman Police Department into the Kingman County Sheriff’s Office, creating one law enforcement agency. They say this can happen without job loss.
The mayor of the City of Kingman, Adrian Harrel, is opposed to that plan, questioning how the County could pay for it so quickly. He believes this is a proposal that would take multiple years.
“Going into 2024, as far as budget is concerned, there is no other money to expand the sheriffs’ department to double its size or to take on a full EMS service that costs $1 million a year,” said Harrel.
The two parties have until Jan. 1, 2024, to come to an agreement. If they are not able to by the deadline, Kingman EMS will potentially not be able to respond to calls outside of city limits.
The contract agreement for 2023 came in February of this year after the two sides could not come to terms for over a month after the deadline. They said it did not impact EMS response this year.
There will be a public forum on the issue at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Leaders from the city and county told me they want to hear the public’s view on who should be in charge of EMS and how they should best move forward.