On this week’s Marion County Board of Supervisors agenda, an action item is on the list to accept a letter submitted by the Marion County Emergency Management Services Association, which asks that Supervisor Mark Raymie no longer participate in an advisory committee aimed to solve how to best use a potential essential services levy in local communities.
The letter is addressed to the entire board, which details the process of the group first created by a vote of the Board of Supervisors in February 2023. That initial committee consists of representatives from Pella, Knoxville, Pleasantville, Melcher-Dallas, and Bussey, as well as five townships, five fire departments, Pella Ambulance, Marion County Emergency Management, Marion County Sheriff’s Department, Marion County Public Health, Knoxville Hospital and Clinics, and Pella Regional Health Center, as well as Supervisor Raymie. Their task was to determine how to distribute funds if an essential services tax was approved by 60% of Marion County voters, and how to ultimately fill shortfalls as it relates to deficits running up with local ambulance services.
In the letter, the “Members of the Marion County EMS Association” claim Raymie put a hold on any meetings after November 2023, citing his time commitment to county budget matters. Then, earlier this month, Marion County Public Health Director Kim Dorn claimed that the EMS advisory committee’s process was “at a standstill” and unable to come to a consensus, and thus, a new group was formed by Raymie. The letter claims that Raymie started the new group on his own without approval of the other members of the board; no formal vote was taken to do so at a public meeting. The new committee did not include any fire or EMS directors, and only leadership from local hospitals and, initially, only representation from the City of Pella.
Ultimately, the group of EMS leaders behind the letter accuse Raymie of acting on his own and outside of the purview of the entire Board of Supervisors, and that he is purposefully excluding the emergency response groups of Marion County. They also believe that the “standstill” that Dorn cited is a result of Raymie asking to stop the group from meeting himself.
“The EMS Advisory Committee was created and charged by the Board of Supervisors to perform a function. That committee has made progress, and it can still pursue its work. In contrast, the board took no action to create the second group that was described in the press release. There is no disagreement that there are many aspects to consider when looking at changes to the emergency medical system. EMS service directors in Marion County are receptive to an open, unbiased review of EMS in Marion County, but such a review must include all pertinent positions. Regrettably, from our view, Supervisor Raymie has repeatedly attempted to silence or ignore the people who actually respond to emergency situations.”
Click here to read the full letter. Ultimately, the EMS group is requesting that another member of the Board of Supervisors join the committee.
“The Marion County EMS Association believes that Supervisor Raymie’s continued involvement in The EMS Advisory Committee is counterproductive to the purpose of that committee.”
Raymie defended his actions at the February 12th Board of Supervisors meeting. He said the fire and ambulance directors of the county could still come together and make their official recommendation, and that this separate board is mainly to focus solely on the impact of the major financial contributors to the current emergency medical services system.
Audio from that portion of the Board of Supervisors meeting:
The February press release that came before that session, attributed to Marion County Public Health Director Kim Dorn, stated, “This group reviewed various proposals to address the operational and financial gaps currently present in our ambulance service system. The group was unable to arrive at a consensus proposal to present to the board of supervisors. With that process at a standstill, members of the Board of Supervisors, local hospitals and cities have met as a separate group to continue the discussion around the future of ambulance services in Marion County.”
The Marion County Board of Supervisors will review the letter at their meeting this Tuesday at 9 a.m.