MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis said a proposed increase in the amount the city charges insurance companies for EMS runs would not affect residents and will help offset rising fuel costs paid by the city.
City Council voted to implement the practice of EMS billing in 2005. The city bills insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid but not residents. Nor are people without insurance billed. Mavis said the city writes off whatever amount the insurance company does not pay.
In 2006, EMS billing brought in $168,725, although the billing began in July of that year. In 2007, EMS billing brought the city $504, 617.
“EMS billing revenue comes into the city’s general fund,” Mavis said. “It clearly helps, since we fund police and fire and EMS services directly from the general fund. Fire is the largest budget line item in the general fund budget. Police is second.”
On Monday, Mount Vernon City Council gave a first reading to a piece of legislation that would increase the amount the city bills for EMS runs by 2.7 percent, an increase the mayor said is permitted by federal law. The vast majority of EMS transport runs are for basic life support emergencies, he said. The other two categories are advanced life support 1, which would be increased to $744 a run, and advanced life support 2, which would rise to $939.
Mavis added that some uncertainty has arisen with regard to prisoners at the Knox County Jail who must be transported to the hospital. Although it is a county building, the jail lies in the city limits. He said prisoners are considered wards of the county and city officials are still investigating whether to bill the county for the runs.
In other city news, the mayor said:
•The Mount Vernon Spring Cleanup program begins today. Items may be taken to Allied Waste/BFI at 107 Tilden Ave. This is only for residents of the city. The city pays 50 percent; the resident pays 50 percent. The minimum charge is $25 plus fees, or $48 a ton. No hazardous materials or yard waste will be accepted. All loads must be weighed on the scales, so residents are requested to go directly to the back gate behind the building. Times to drop off waste are: Today, from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m; May 5 through 9, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, June 7; Saturday, July 5; Saturday, Aug. 2; and Saturday, Sept. 6, from 8 to 11:30 am.
•Mavis said that many people have been asking when the water park will open. He said the pool will certainly be open June 1, although city officials are considering opening the park Memorial Day weekend, if there is sufficient staff. He added that water park-goers can still take advantage of lowered membership rates through May 9. Higher rates will be charged beginning May 10. Scholarship applications for memberships are available in the mayor’s office. More information on water park rates is available on the city’s Web site: mountvernonohio.org.
•The administration awarded the contract for a drainage improvement project on West Vine Street to Beheler Construction of Butler. The project involves installing a storm sewer from the alley behind the Woodward Opera House, along West Vine Street to the intersection with South Main Street. Mavis said the project should be finished by the end of the month.
•The plan to move an historic iron bridge from Wakatomika Creek outside of Bladensburg to Foundation Park has been delayed, but the mayor hopes to get the project under way as soon as possible. He said he has been working with engineers to form a safe strategy for moving the bridge, adding that he refuses to move ahead without such a plan.
•Mavis said code enforcement officer Larry Fogle told him there will probably be some letters sent next week to property owners whose grass exceeds the 8-inch limit laid out in the city’s ordinances.
