Town Hall Meeting Planned.

To Discuss Emergency Services Charges.

The City Council Public Safety Committee met at the Fire Station for its regular monthly meeting Monday evening. Committee Chair Bill Welch dedicated a portion of the meeting to an open discussion concerning the proposed ordinance that would allow the Fire Department to bill insurance companies for emergency service runs.

An ordinance to allow the charges was presented by the committee to the full Council last month, but it was tabled at the last Council meeting with the recommendation for more study on the proposal.

Several citizens and two Council members that are not on the committee were in attendance and spoke to the issue.

Fire Chief Chris Thompson addressed some of the concerns but also recommended a "town hall" type meeting to give the general public a better understanding of the proposal.

Members of the Committee made few comments.

Welch asked Chief Thompson and City Administrator Tom Short to come up with a time and place for the meeting after the holidays. No other directions were given.

The real problem so far with the idea of billing insurance companies for emergency services hasn’t had much to do with the content of the proposed ordinance, but with what isn’t in the ordinance. Nobody with a vote seems ta know for sure exactly how this thing is supposed ta work. And, more importantly, no single elected official has taken ownership of the proposal.

Chief Thompson asked the question at the meetin’ the other night if the Committee would be at the town hall meet to support the proposal. He got a luke warm "sure." But at this point, I don’t see anyone willin’ to put up a good fight.

For this thing to get sold, someone other than staff has to walk it through the process. Or let it die of its own weight.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

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Weekly Columns

HERE’S A TIP

By JoAnn Derson

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