Need for EMS board debated; director to address committee

Bedford County Board of Commissioners' rules and legislative committee took no action Tuesday night on a proposal to eliminate the Bedford County Emergency Medical Services board; instead, the rules committee will invite BCEMS director Chad Graham to attend next month's meeting to discuss the board's role and importance.

Rules committee members, and other commissioners in attendance Tuesday night, disagreed among themselves about the need for a board. Changes to the county's fiscal structure in recent years have left financial functions which used to be part of the board's responsibility under the control of the county finance office.

Commissioner Joe Tillett said the BCEMS board is no longer needed and should be eliminated in the interest of smaller, simpler government. Tillett had proposed that the board be eliminated and that BCEMS be placed under the supervision of the commission's law enforcement committee.

But other commissioners disagreed. Rules committee chairman P.T. "Biff" Farrar said such boards and committees give a chance for more people to get involved in government, which he said is a benefit. Commissioner Jimmy Patterson said that the BCEMS board isn't compensated and agreed that it gives an opportunity for community involvement, even if it serves in an advisory role.

Commissioner Linda Yockey said it might be possible to leave the BCEMS board in place but also require BCEMS to report regularly to the law enforcement committee, so that commissioners would be better informed about its operations.

Commissioner John Brown said that the current system seemed to be working smoothly.

"If it's working OK, why change it?" he asked.

Commissioner Tony Barrett suggested that Graham be invited to next month's rules committee to discuss the issue further.

In other actions at Tuesday night's meeting:

* The committee placed a public hearing concerning the county's judicial commissioners on an upcoming commission agenda after hearing that state law calls for such a meeting to be held each year.

Judicial commissioners, who in Bedford County are appointed and supervised by the General Sessions Court judge, are responsible for reviewing complaints from crime victims and, if appropriate, issuing warrants against the alleged offenders. County Mayor Eugene Ray and County Attorney John T. Bobo said Wednesday morning that the meeting is to solicit public input on the judicial commissioners program.

* The committee placed the county road list for 2010 on the full commission's agenda for January. Each year, according to state law, the commission must approve the official list of county-maintained roads. Nine roads have been added and one has been extended since last year's list, and the commission approved those individual changes as they took place. Highway Superintendent Stanley Smotherman distributed a list of the changes to commissioners in attendance.

* Now that the full commission has approved guidelines for naming roads and bridges, an old request by Diane Green for a bridge renaming will be placed on next month's rules committee agenda. The request had been set aside while the rules committee had been working out the naming guidelines, which were first proposed earlier in the year.