County Does Have a Plan on Ambulance Financing

In an editor's note on a letter to the editor in the March 16 issue of the Northern Wyoming News it stated that the county did not have a plan for funding the ground ambulance but had looked at a quarter of a cent sales tax option last year. The note should have stated that no long-term decisions have been made rather than using the phrase "plan."

Commissioners Aaron Anderson and Morgan Martinez stated Thursday that they do have a plan.

The current plan is funding the ground ambulance contract with Cody Regional Health through American Rescue Plan Act funding through the current contract that ends mid 2024.

Anderson said they have approximately $200,000 in enterprise funds from the former volunteer ambulance service that should provide funding beyond the current contract. Initially the county had opted to use the enterprise funds but when the ARPA funding came, it had a timeline to be spent and the commissioners wanted to make the best use of the federal funds for the benefit of the county.

"We're trying to utilize ARPA funding as efficiently as possible," Anderson said.

"We are covered for close to three years, which is outside of the existing contract," Anderson said.

He said they have several options regarding long-term funding including the quarter of a cent sales tax and forming an emergency management district through resolution as allowed under new legislation passed in the most recent Wyoming Legislative Session.

More on the ground ambulance funding plan will be published in next week's Northern Wyoming News.