By BETH ZUMWALT
The Scott County Board of Commissioners have had numerous inquiries about the status of the contract with Winchester EMS, which is set to begin Sept. 1.
The Request for Proposal was drafted in April 2023 and sealed bids were accepted May 1. The board received only one bid – from Winchester EMS.
June 5, the Board of Commissioners approved to award the bid to Winchester EMS. Upon approval, the Board instructed Winchester EMS that they must supply the board with a complete audit and certified financial statements. Discussions have been made about commencing disbursement Sept. 1.
However, a contract has yet to be entered into by the parties and solidifying that date.
Before a contract can be entered into, the corporation (Winchester EMS) must supply the board with the audit. As of this release, the board has not received the audit. Therefore, no contract has been entered into.
Once the audit has been received and approved by the Board, contract negotiations will commence. Only after the contract has been completed will the quarterly distributions begin. Randy Dolen, president of the Winchester EMS, said that the EMS organization was prepared to have an audit completed, but then was told by Bob Shaffer, president of the county commissioners, that the audit needed to be done by the county’s auditor.
“We are still trying to work that out,” Dolen said. “It is a process that is going to take time.”
