Extra funds for Sweetwater Medics approved

Sweetwater Medics will receive $235,000 from the county to help the ambulance service get through the end of the year.

Sweetwater Medics Director Ron Gatti asked the Board of County Commissioners to provide the additional funds during Tuesday’s meeting. After discussion, all five commissioners voted to approve the funds.

Gatti explained that Sweetwater Medics has seen cost centers shifting and revenues decreasing, particularly since Castle Rock Medical Center took over ground transportation ambulance service from Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County.

Bailey Dockter and Dan Stanton from Castle Rock Ambulance Service also attended the commission meeting and gave an update on the ambulance service, noting the ground transport takeover.

Gatti said the funds he requested were needed to balance bills through the end of the fiscal and financial year. When Commissioner Roy Lloyd asked about the ramifications should the funds not be provided, Gatti said he believed the ambulance service wouldn’t be able to continue.

The commissioners and Sweetwater County Accounting Manager Bonnie Berry discussed financial information provided by Sweetwater Medics, and Gatti offered explanations on how insurance rules affect the amount of money the ambulance service is able to collect. Although Commissioner Mary Thoman wanted more time to go through the financial information, Gatti stressed that he had been honest and straightforward with the details and the funds he requested were what he knew he needed to make up for lost revenue, keep the ambulance service running and provide a small buffer.

Gatti said he needed the funds approved that day in order to fulfill contractual obligations. He apologized for the tight timeline, but noted he had to wait to see the results of the Nov. 2 special election before knowing if he needed to make the request. The 1% general purpose tax which was defeated during the election would have provided extra funds to ambulance services such as Sweetwater Medics.

Gatti told the commissioners he doesn’t like the current model, but it is the system currently in place, and it needs to be addressed. Commissioner Lauren Schoenfeld agreed.

“We know this model doesn’t work,” Schoenfeld said. “We know that it’s not functioning well. We still have to have ambulance services through when we can resolve this issue.”

Lloyd noted that although he voted to approve the additional funds to Sweetwater Medics, he did so hesitantly.

“I’m only doing so to ensure our citizens of Sweetwater County have the ambulance they need,” Lloyd said.

“I think that’s what we’re all doing,” Commissioner Jeff Smith responded.

Other business from the Nov. 16 commission meeting:

Land Use Director Eric Bingham and Economic Development Specialist Kayla McDonald presented a plan to bring back town hall programs, branded as “Coffee with the County.” This program would create an open and welcoming environment where residents can meet with elected officials to discuss future projects, current projects, economic development updates and any residents’ concerns, McDonald explained. The goal is to have at least two meetings a month. McDonald and Bingham noted there would be some costs involved, such as rental space, marketing funding and providing coffee and refreshments, although they hope local businesses and sponsors would also help. The commissioners approved of the idea, with Lloyd saying it would be worth the cost and be an opportunity to be more open with the community and Schoenfeld adding it was a great idea that would assist in open transparency.

Philip Pyzyna was reappointed as Chair of the Sweetwater County Library System Board. Lenore Perry was also considered for the position. Commissioners noted Perry would be a good addition to the library board, but decided to reappoint Pyzyna in order to maintain continuity while the library is also looking for a new library system director. Jason Grubb’s last day as director was last Friday. Lindsey Travis is serving as the interim director.

The commissioners approved December 27 as an additional holiday for county employees and discussed making Juneteenth a “floating holiday” in the future. The commissioners also approved a $400 bonus for county employees as a thank you for the extra work done in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Elected officials were exempt from the bonus. The funds came from $104,000 of reimbursement the county received for the extra work that was done. Thoman didn’t believe the bonus could be distributed fairly and pointed out the county is in a time of declining revenue, and voted against the bonus. Thoman and Lloyd both said they heard from employees who said they wouldn’t want to receive a bonus. Thoman and Wendling both voted “no” to the bonus, but the motion passed with a 3-2 vote.

Discussion of a federal COVID-19 vaccination mandate took up a large part of the meeting, with the commissioners, Human Resources Director Gary McLean and Deputy County and Prosecuting Attorney John DeLeon discussing what a vaccine mandate could look like for county employees. Commission chairman Randy Wendling said he believes being vaccinated should be a choice, and the commissioners discussed the difficulties of determining which employees are unvaccinated and testing them every week. DeLeon explained OSHA, which is part of the federal mandate, defines an employee as not including state and political subdivisions, while Wyoming specifically includes them. The commissioners decided to send a letter to Wyoming Workforce to see if Wyoming can follow OSHA’s guidelines which would exclude state and political employees from the mandate.

 

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