Junction City Commissioners have approved a motion by Commissioner Jeff Underhill telling the County to pay all of their bills for the EMS services due in 203 in full and pay $165,000 per month for 2024 until there is a permanent contract in place. "If this can't be agreed on by the County then we'll need to discontinue service outside of the city limits on Feb. 20 at 11:59 pm. which is what we had said in December," said Underhill.
Underhill said that gives everybody more than enough time to fix their agreements or continue to operate at the $165,000 level. The commissioner added that's what the city budgeted to operate the Fire and EMS Services.....approximately $2 million for the year. "They need to pay their bills, and I don't want to discontinue service but last time I made a motion they came up with a check in four days. Hopefully they can do it again." The commission vote was four in favor with Commissioner Richard Pinaire abstaining.
The dispute over the amount the County should pay for EMS Services has now stretched out over several weeks.
City Manager Allen Dinkel said he feels the city numbers are fair. He noted that the City told the County two million would be needed and the County budgeted $1.5 million. Dinkel called the current service "a great service."