County commissioners respond to EMS audit

The July 26 visit by Don Wilson, Chase County’s auditor, left Chase County Commissioners Jacci Brown, Duane Dinnel and Dennis Kunnemann facing several questions at their Aug. 9 meeting.
The commissioners will invite Imperial EMS members to their Aug. 16 meeting to go over the recommendations made by Wilson.
The county board would like to pay EMS members back for their training rather than pay Imperial EMS, then the county would be reimbursed by the state. In-county ambulance runs would also be paid to EMS individuals, like Wauneta EMS has been paid.
The commissioners would also like to make EMS members part-time county employees beginning Jan. 1, meaning EMS personnel would have to be approved by the county.
Wilson would like to see itemized claims in the future.
Public funds, those paid to EMS by the county, should be available for audit, according to Wilson. Bank accounts for donations and other non-public funds would not be subject to audits.
Chase County Community Hospital CEO Abby Cyboron also dropped by the meeting to clarify the status of the hospital’s sinking fund.
The commissioners were clear that the money in the sinking fund would remain for hospital use, but also said Wilson recommended that the county not continue to add to the $750,000 in the fund.
Cyboron said if $250,000 isn’t going into the sinking fund, CCCH may ask for that money for its operations budget.
Dinnel asked Cyboron what is the level of care goal for the hospital, can the county afford to keep making improvements and how much money should be committed to that.
Cyboron said work is never done and CCCH is always thinking about the next physician or project.
In other business, Dinnel said Imperial Beef would like to put millings on Road 749 from the end of the concrete to just past Imperial Beef’s east entrance. Foote has agreed to covering all costs and maintenance. The commissioners will act on the contract at their next meeting.
The county will be switching to .gov domain names at the recommendation of Applied Connective, following the company’s audit of the county’s IT security.
Road trips were also on the commissioners agenda. The group rode a transit bus to Champion to see the new crossing to Champion Lake.
The board also swung by the RJ and Debbie Teply home to look over a possible swap of land. Teply’s well sits on county property and the county pays for the well. The plan has been for Teplys to trade over some adjacent land they own with the land the well sits on.
The county had the land surveyed, but Teplys removed the stakes.
Dinnel said he wants to see the county keep the peace and work with Teplys, but also doesn’t want them to dictate what the county must do.
Kunnemann also had a road trip scheduled for that afternoon with Scott Bussell to look over the curbs, grade and width of roads in the districts.