By Julie Johansen
Mayors from the cities of Emery County met with Emery County Commissioner Ethan Migliori, county attorney Mike Olsen and a handful of EMTs at the Council of Government (COG) meeting on Tuesday to discuss the newly proposed agency agreement for governance of the county EMTs.
The county has developed an agency plan that has been previously presented and explained to each city in a council meeting. The mayors had plenty of questions as to why the county could no longer govern the EMTs.
Migliori explained that the Affordable Care Act made it financially impossible for the county. There have also been some internal problems it was hoping to solve with this newly created agency. The majority of mayors felt that this agreement was unacceptable but had very few remedies or suggestions other than the county continuing to manage the system.
EMTs present felt that they too should be in on the planning stages. The decision was made to try to find willing city and county leaders and concerned citizens to help draw up an agreeable document to govern the EMS. The county must provide emergency medical services to its citizens, but how to do it efficiently and financially was not determined at the meeting.
Commissioner Migliori also gave a local gas tax option update, informing the mayors of the financial implications that the legislature could take in this matter and how important it is that the cities take appropriate action to help protect the smaller communities, such as those in Emery County.