Commissioners review county finances with auditor, discuss with EMS officers

Auditor Don Wilson was at the July 26 regular meeting of the Chase County Commissioners to review the county’s financials.
Wilson’s suggestion for the board is that the county keep $1.2 million in its inheritance fund at all times.
In discussing the hospital sinking fund, Wilson suggested getting rid of the hospital levy.
Wilson would also like to review the Chase County Ambulance accounts as part of his audit since Imperial and Wauneta EMS receive county and state money.
Imperial EMS president Craig Loeffler and Deb Hayes talked through the EMS relationship with the county.
There is no current contract between Wauneta and Imperial EMS  and the county. EMS crew members aren’t considered county employees, but once their pagers go off, EMS members are covered by the county’s liability insurance.
Imperial EMS members are paid for out of county runs and Wauneta crews are paid for all runs. For local Imperial runs, Imperial EMS is paid rather than the individual. The county does the billing, as well.
EMS receives money from the state as reimbursement for training. The county pays for the ambulances and supplies. Imperial EMS uses the county tax ID number.
Loeffler and Hayes were hesitant to let Wilson look into their accounts.
Commissioner Jacci Brown said services like the Chase County Community Hospital fall under Wilson’s purview as the county’s auditor because the county has to be held accountable.
Loeffler and Hayes will take the issue back to their crew for a vote of the officers at their August meeting. Wilson asked to see bank statements, images of checks, treasurer’s reports and minutes of meetings from January 2021 to June 2022.
The bid from Lake Mac Assessment was accepted over one from Stanard Appraisal Services for the county’s commercial appraisal contract. The State of Nebraska will have to approve the contract.
The various emails of the county offices will be moved to one domain after a recent IT security survey.
The next meeting of the commissioners will be Aug. 9 at 8 a.m.