FORT PIERRE — The Hughes County Commission and Fort Pierre City Council have approved resolutions of intent to form the Central South Dakota Ambulance District. Fort Pierre Alderman Scott Deal serves on the current ambulance board and says emergency medical care could leave Hughes and Stanley County without it…
The goal is to put the District on the ballot this fall to let residents of Hughes and Stanley County decide if they want ambulance service. Mayor Gloria Hanson says supporting ambulance service in its current form will cost the city significantly more next year…
Service from A-M-R Ambulance to serve Hughes and Stanley County is 415-thousand dollars. State law allows for an ambulance district to only fund for costs and no profit. As for the cost, the levy for a home with a valuation of 250-thousand dollars would be around 60-dollars per year to fund the District. Deal says it’s a small price to pay to save a live…
Deal says much of the cost increases are because of a paramedic shortage…
If approved by a majority vote, Pierre’s share would be 40-percent; Hughes County at 36-percent; Fort Pierre at 13-percent and Stanley County at 11. Similar resolutions are on the agendas Tuesday night for the Stanley County Commission and Pierre City Commission. The towns of Blunt and Harrold will also consider similar resolutions.
