Dec. 24--After some brief fireworks amidst arguments over whether it was the city or the county who was at fault in delaying the applications to enlist as many as four more volunteer medics to respond to emergencies in remote areas of the county, commissioners on Monday signed off on a new method of approving first responders.
The Kerr County 1st Responder Program, managed by Kerrville through an interlocal agreement with the county, has about 16 volunteers but has had no formal process for screening or approving applicants. Thus far, applicants in the program mostly were local residents affiliated with the Kerrville Fire Department and had already been screened as part of their employment.
Recently, Kerrville's city manager sent a letter to Commissioner Tom Moser asking the county to conduct more screening of first responder applicants. The city requested complete criminal background checks, drug screening and blood tests on prospective first responders.
During Monday's meeting of the Kerr County commissioners, commissioner Jonathan Letz called the requirements "ridiculous." In November, he said a screening policy might develop into an employer-employee relationship, requiring insurance and a costly program.
Commissioner H.A. "Buster" Baldwin, who is the county's liaison for the EMS and first responder programs, made a proposal that involved hiring Kelly Millican to screen applicants and work with the city to get new first responders onboard, which he said was an initial step toward starting the county's own first responder program. Millican performs similar services for at least one nearby county.
"The city has expressed that it doesn't want to do business with us in any way, so we should separate ourselves," Baldwin said.
Moser argued the county could do the work in-house for as little as $100 per applicant and could require medical screening done at applicants' cost. He made a motion to have the county's human resources department screen applicants, but it died for lack of a second, to which he responded, "That's amazing. That is amazing, that is amazing."
Moser said the county was preventing the appointments of more first responders, while Letz said the city had caused the delay and should have made some kind of proposal beyond the letter sent by the city manager. Moser told Letz he was being ridiculous, and Letz disagreed. Commissioners recessed for 10 minutes, and when they returned, Baldwin announced Millican hadn't shown up and Moser's idea was looked at again. Letz made a motion to approve it with a small tweak of his own and it passed unanimously. Letz asked Moser analyze the new process' effect on the county's budget and present his findings to the court in January.
The new first responder approval process requires the county's human resources department to only consider applicants who:
--Reside outside Kerrville and within Kerr County or contiguous counties
--Have a valid driver's license and proof of insurance
--Haven't been convicted of felonies or sex offenses
--Pass a screening for illegal drugs and infectious diseases
--Are certified EMTs.
According to the new system, the human resources director will submit qualified applicants to the commissioners court for approval and the court will send recommendation letters to the city.
Kerrville Assistant Fire Chief Mark Beavers said members of the Kerr County 1st Responder Program should be certified EMTs.
"If you're going to have people responding to medical calls to assist the current EMS service provider, they better be medically trained," Beavers said.
In other matters, commissioners:
--Recognized County Clerk Jannett Pieper for winning the Five Star Exemplary Vital Registration Award for the 14th year from the Texas Department of State Health Services .
--Approved funds for a new cash register and authorized the sale of the broken register, which staff said was less than the $500 cost of fixing it.
--Approved the hiring of a full-time motor vehicle clerk at a beginning salary of $29,369. The already-budgeted position became open after an employee transferred into a bookeeping position.
--Approved the implementation of a countywide burn ban.
--Approved the payment of bills.
--Approved budgeted amendments to accept $82,570 in indigent defense funds and $84,000 in county court at law funding from the state.
--Received and approved the last three monthly reports from the offices of County Treasurer and Justices of the Peace 1, 2 and 4.
Copyright 2013 - Kerrville Daily Times, Texas
