County approves refund exceeding $40,000 after TERC negotiations

Following negotiations, more than $40,000 in tax revenue will be refunded to Inspection Oilfield Services (IOS), formerly known as Castronics.

This was reported at the regular Kimball County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 16.

The report was given following typical board items such as approving the agenda and reviewing reports and correspondence were complete the board moved on to the monthly updates.

County Treasurer, Diana Quicke addressed the board concerning possible repayment of a partial tax refund for the 2015 personal property taxes to IOS/PCI, LLC, previously known as Castronics (IOS) due to decreased valuation as previously negotiated with the Kimball County Assessor and IOS. According to Quicke, the first tax protest from IOS that was presented to the board did not result in a refund at that time. After negotiations at the Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) were made, the approved tax amount was sent back to the board on August 2.

The total amount of refund due to IOS per negotiations was $41,012.32, $7,844.09 being due from the Kimball County General fund and $599.45 from the Ambulance fund. The original amount of personal property tax paid by IOS was $146,693.42.

Discussion was next held with Christy Warner concerning the proposed updated County Employee Handbook. Several items to the handbook were altered including updates in the vacation and discipline policies, as well as job descriptions and several other minor items. Warner stated to the board that she would need to send a 30 day notice letter about changes in policy book to all the county employees before making the changes official. The board approved the 30 day notice letter.

Ambulance Director, Carla Goranson along with Kim Schildhauer, presented the July 2016 statistical and financial reports. Goranson reported a “very quiet month” in July, with only twenty ambulance calls compared to 39 in June. Weekends consistently have the highest percentage of calls however, that’s also when they have a more difficult time with staffing.

“We’re lucky to have two people in town, much less available, for the ambulance,” Goranson told the board.

Out of the twenty calls last month, only seventeen were available for charge because two were no charge/no treatment calls from either accidental calls or people who then refused transportation after the ambulance arrived at the scene. The third call that they did not charge for was a person who was deceased upon arrival.

Daria Faden asked Goranson if they kept rattlesnake anti-venom on the ambulance and Goranson replied that they did not. According to Schildhauer the anti-venom has a very short life span and is very expensive, so that as far as she knew, the hospital only kept a few themselves.

Ken Hunter was there and told the board, that they keep three vials at the hospital and it costs them $2,500 a vile. Depending on the severity of the bite, Hunter said that he had heard that severe bites may require up to twenty or even thirty vials, he said, “the average cost of a rattlesnake bite nation wide is $100,000”.

The lesser frequency of rabies and the availability of the vaccine was quickly discussed as well. Hunter stating that cats, “almost never contract rabies”.

The subject of tularemia from rabbits was also discussed. A somewhat rare, although highly deadly infectious disease, tularemia is also known as rabbit fever and is spread through contact with bodily fluids from the rabbit. Goranson said that she had heard of a two men in Colorado that had died from it.

Discussion moved to the ambulance revenue and financials for the fiscal year end of 2015-16 as of the end of June, 2016. A total $346,261.81 was spent by the ambulance department with deposits of $184,475.91 from billing the actual runs. The ambulance service also receives other revenue through a swing bed contract with the hospital, reimbursement from the state and other payments including memorials and those amounts were not recorded in the total deposits for last year because they go directly into the county ambulance fund and not through the ambulance department itself. However Schildhauer estimated that including all streams of revenue, the deposits for the ambulance last year was in excess of $200,000.

According to Goranson, during the past year, $62,000 was paid for the down payment of the new ambulance, $25,000 was repaid to the county for a partial loan for start up costs, and the first bi-annual payment of $21,000 for the ambulance was paid in the past year. This show that approximately $50,000 of tax payer money was needed to run the ambulance department 24/7, 365 days a year.

Another $30,000 is owed on the loan from the county but that will be paid off in the upcoming fiscal year.

Going forward, $42,000 in payments, per year, paid in $21,000 bi-annual payments will be due for the ambulance for the next five years.

The ambulance received training on their new electronic Ferno ambulance cot that can lift a person up to 500 pounds with just the push of a button.

Kevin Moser attended the State of Nebraska Level 1 & 2 leadership academy for EMS in North Platte. It is funded by the State Patrol and after Moser finishes the academy the State Patrol will refund the ambulance a partial amount, the State EMS will refund hotels and when all is said and done, the training will only cost the ambulance $25 plus fuel and travel expenses. Moser will be attending Level 3 & 4 in November.

The 2016-17 County Budget Workshop meetings started on Tuesday, August 16 at 1 p.m. and will continue thru Thursday, August 25 starting at 9 a.m.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners is Tuesday, September 6 at 9 a.m.