Commissioners discuss adding additional ambulance crew members

TOP PHOTO: Commissioner Jerry Brown brought up the need for more ambulance service in Campbell County at Monday’s County Commission. Commissioner Josh Etters, pictured at right, said the same thing, that the county needed another 12 hour crew. This will be on next week’s agenda.

By Charlotte Underwood

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- Campbell County Commissioners spent quite a bit of time discussing ambulance service needs in Campbell County at Monday’s commission workshop.

Commissioner Jerry Brown brought up the problem of not enough ambulances in the county, saying that “three and a half trucks is not enough to cover this county.”

“It is a serious problem that needs addressed by this county commission to provide the best health care we can to Campbell County. Unfortunately, Bruce’s (Bruce Perkins EMS Director) budget does not support any of this. If they are all gone on a transport, then there are no trucks left in the county. It is time for another ambulance in Campbell County,” Brown said. Commissioner Josh Etters, who works for EMS, said it was a national problem right now and you just had to look at how big Campbell County was to see that more was needed.

“My understanding is that the rest of us were waiting for the hospital to get theirs in place and Jellico would be took care of,” If the hospital opens, then the city of Jellico will have an ambulance,” Commissioner Ralph Davis said.

County Mayor Jimmy Jeffries brought up having a BOS ambulance or the van either way, then you will free your other free ambulances up during the day to answer 911 calls so we can catch the 141 911 calls we are missing,” Jeffries said.

Commissioner Rusty Orick said the commission had we have looked at it “for years and years,” but the problem was coming up with the extra funding. He asked county finance director Eric Pearson what the cost would be.

Pearson said it would be around $407,00 to run another ambulance. Orick asked what that would cost in tax increases. Pearson said around 2.5 cents.

Commissioner Zach Marlow said that he was not for taking it out of fund balance.

“You’re just setting yourself up for a tax increase, you need a good fund balance for cash flow and if you dig into your fund balance you are setting yourself up to not have money to run your service,” Marlow said.

Brown said that no one would be able to answer what the collection rate of having another ambulance would be.

“The thing about it is getting boots on the ground and taking care of Campbell County and whether we touch this fund balance or not, that’s the number one thing we need to be looking at is how do we take care of our people. It’s time to quit making the ambulance service a business and it’s a service to the people of Campbell County.”

Mayor Jeffries asked if he wanted to put something on the agenda.

Brown said he did want to put it on the agenda for the county to add another EMS crew of four for a 12-hour shift. He said to “give it a chance and see what it could do.”

Commissioners asked Bruce Perkins what he needed.  

“We need an additional truck, but my concern is, I have had this happen as the service director twice and twice we have hired people and twice we have had to turn around and tell the people that we hired that the funds are not there and you gotta go. To me, that’s not right to hire somebody and the job is not there. We need some help, the numbers are what they are, but the numbers are not what I see every day. What I see every day is a crew that never comes to the station, they are tired, they are wore out, we have 911 calls, we have doctor’s appointments, we have dialysis, and our guys are tired, I understand it costs money, I do, and my guys squeeze every dime they can outside of insurance providers to get us paid…. It has to be documented properly…We are working on a treat in place program, …these are certain steps you have to take to meet the requirements, but that is still $275, it’s not a lot of money, insurance companies are doing their best to not pay, that is their job, whatever you guys can give us, we would be happy with it, it would be great, but if we hire someone, we have to make sure they know they have a job, people have made the remark, how long are you going to keep me if you hire me … I am not asking for the stars and the moon, just a little bit of help, because my guys deserve it and the citizens of Campbell County deserve it, it is a business, yes, I know, but it is a service, we were put on this earth to take care of people” Perkins said.

Jerry Brown said the total cancellation calls were 637 for the year.

“So, if you could meet a lot of those calls, that’s $290,000, that’s a lot of money that could help fund it if you could make that happen,” Commissioner David Greene said.

Campbell County Training Officer Joe Herrell spoke to the commission as well.

“One thing I would like to say, I have been in EMS for 20 years here in Campbell County, this past Friday from 4 pm till 7 am, your three and a half trucks that you fund ran 17 calls and that doesn’t mean that we can run a call and kick somebody out, we get delayed at the hospital, we get delayed at the scene, for the last year and a half I have been responsible for training our ambulance service and employees, we finally, after several years have a really good workforce in our county that is working for the citizens of the county. I live here, I really strive to make sure we have the best ambulance service, Director Perkins does also; I have kids in this school system, I want my kids to feel protected, but when they are running 20 plus calls a day with three and a half trucks, people get tired. It is unfair to ask them to do that, for once in 20 years, we are one of the better paying counties, in the 16 county region area, but our folks continue to leave because they are getting run into the dirt, they can go to Knox County and get make the same amount of money running four or five calls, when our crews are running 10. As Bruce said earlier, insurance tries every day not to pay us, and if our documentation is poor, they try not to pay us, when you are 15 or 16 calls in and you are going without sleep, what is documentation look like; we need help in the county and that is up to this body to fund that. I have seen it for 20 years, I have complained about it for 15 and for the last five years, I understand why, I have three fellow first responders that I have spent 20 years with, I have worked around our mayor for many years, we finally have the people in place to make this happen, nobody wants a tax increase, but nobody wants their family to suffer and have to wait on an ambulance. Thank you for your time,” Herrell concluded.

Finance Director Eric Pearson was asked about calculations and said it would cost around $386,000 to $407,000. He also said there was a trend that ambulance transports had gone down and that the county would need 904 transports a year to cover that cost completely without any tax dollars, and that there would have to have an increase of 15-percent in transports to make up that expense,” Pearson said. He also said he did not recommend the money to come out of fund balance and that the comptroller would not recommend it either.

Commissioner Josh Etters said the side of the ambulances said “Campbell County Service, not Campbell County Business” He also invited his fellow commissioners “to come get on the ambulance service truck with him for 24 hours to see what’s going on for 24 hours.

“I would love everybody to come ride with me, I will even buy you dinner,” Etters said.

After more discussion on costs, and how to fund it, County Mayor Jeffries said there was two choices.

Commissioner Chris Stanley asked if the calls the truck would pick up would cover the cost for it. County Mayor Jeffries said, “there were so many unknowns that there was no way to know.” He said if they put on another truck, they were going to have to revamp to make sure they caught all the missed calls.

“I think everybody wants to help the county, but I am not for raising taxes in any way,” Stanley said.

Mayor Jeffries said he felt there were two choices.

“You take money out of fund balance and get an ambulance, … or two, you can let Eric crunch the numbers and go from there, those are the two choices we have, Jeffries said. He asked how Perkins felt about it. “As the department head, would you rather have a 12 hour ambulance right now or have the final crunched numbers.”

Perkins said he was fine with what the commission can find, but he wanted some stability.

“I want stability if we hire someone, they have a job and I don’t have to fire them. I would have the final crunched numbers, bottom line numbers, yes sir,” Perkins said. Jeffries said it was up to the commission.

Zach Marlow spoke briefly, “Number one, I love all of you, but the people I talk to in my district have made it clear they don’t want their taxes raised and I have no intent to take it out of fund balance or to raise taxes, secondly if this is an issue you all feel passionate about, … I think you need establish the ambulance committee again and start discussing the issues, and instead of coming in here having a big, long discussion on it in a workshop and we are not being productive,” Marlow said.

Jeffries reiterated that there were two choices and that commissioners needed to pick one of the two to add to the agenda.

Jeffries asked Commissioner Brown if he wanted to leave it on the agenda or take it off to vote on adding a 12-hour ambulance with a four-member crew

“I want to leave it on there,” Brown said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-11/10/2026-6AM)