Commissioners okay AirEvac contract

Shackelford County commissioners approved the annual contract renewal with AirMedCare Network during Monday morning’s regular session, which was followed by a budget workshop.

No action was taken on the budget, with elected officials continuing to work on figures that will be finalized next month.

Air Ambulance

Randy Teague, who represents the air ambulance known locally as AirEvac, reported to commissioners that there would be no increase for the upcoming contract year, which starts Oct. 1.

For the past few years, the county and Shackelford County Hospital District have split the cost of a county-wide membership, which automatically services everyone who is a county resident.

Anyone with insurance who is picked up within the county and flown by Air Evac does not pay anything for the flight.

For those without insurance, the billing is reduced to the Medicare amount.

The annual fee went up significantly last year, primarily because of the cost of aviation fuel, but Teague stated that there would be no increase for the upcoming year, even though the flight volumes have gone up.

The two entities pay approximately $12,000 each for a total of $24,000 annually.

Teague did not have precise information about the number of flights from Shackelford County, but he did think there had been more than usual.

There were more than a dozen patient transports from here in 2017, with each flight averaging $46,000. 

Commissioner Lanham Martin commented that the contract is a worthwhile investment for the county, and Steve Riley agreed, saying that it has “helped a lot of people.”

The motion to approve the contract for the 2018-2019 year passed unanimously.

Other Business

•The commissioners voted to keep the county-wide burn ban active.

•Sheriff Ed Miller will continue to serve as the county’s emergency management coordinator after the commissioners declined to join a coalition with Jones County that would have a regional coordinator.

•County treasurer Tammy Brown received permission to add a second data processing license at a cost of $450 per month so that her office assistant can work on data input at the same time she is.

•A special meeting was set for Thursday, July 26 to finalize the county’s health insurance coverage.

•Also on Thursday’s agenda will be a discussion with assistant chief appraiser Clayton Snyder about the Shackelford County Appraisal District’s proposed budget.