Linn supervisors confirm they can’t fund ambulance radios

It's all but official that Linn County won't fund local ambulance services' new radios, because it can't.

“It's not that we don't want to provide services to ambulance services,” said District 3 Supervisor Ben Rogers, D-Cedar Rapids. “It's that we can't.”

Supervisors voted unanimously to send a letter to the county's local ambulance services formally informing them it's illegal to provide public funding for the changeover to a new communications system because they're private non-profit organizations, not government agencies. District 2 Supervisor Linda Langston, D-Cedar Rapids, was absent.

Along with Cedar Rapids and Marion, the county is buying a new radio system that will allow seamless voice and data transmissions among the county's public-safety agencies. The upgrade is required to meet a Jan. 1, 2013 deadline to “narrowband” radio systems, freeing up broadcast bandwidth for the booming wireless device industry.

Supervisors plan to issue bonds for its $3.3 million share of the new system. But rural ambulance services, which must also buy new radios to communicate with sheriff's deputies and fire departments, can't receive public money to cover their costs.

Except for Hiawatha, whose ambulances are operated by the city, ambulance services serving the county are non-profits incorporated under section 501(c)3 of the tax code.

“That is a private entity,” Assistant County Attorney Gary Jarvis told the board.

Although most townships contract with non-profits to provide the ambulance coverage required by state law, “that does not make them public,” Jarvis said. “The issue is, are you a not-for-profit corporation, or are you a department of the city of Hiawatha or of  ‘x' township?”

Jarvis said the county may find a legal way to help townships cover the cost.

“I'd be hesitant tp say you can loan money to a private corporation,” he said. “But you may be able to do that through the townships.”

Rogers, the board chairman, said he'll do some legal research before sending the letter, which will go out over his signature. Besides the bad news about county aid, he said he'll remind ambulance directors they can buy their new equipment at the rate negotiated by the county.