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KENT COUNTY, MARYLAND
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Emergency Services Board

Jesse Downey 7/1/08	(Vacant) 0 7/1/09
Eric Jackson 7/1/08	William Bickley, Director of Emergency Management
Lee Cowperthwait, Esq. 7/1/09

§33-1 Appropriations

Chief’s Association – The organization known as Kent County Chief’s Association of Kent County, Maryland whose membership consists of the chief of each fire company and rescue squad located in Kent County, Maryland.

EMS Council – The organization known as Kent County Emergency Medical Services Council, whose membership consists of a representative from each of the EMS services in Kent County and one from the County’s EMS Service.

The County Commissioners of Kent County shall establish an Emergency Services Board, which shall consist of five (5) members:

A representative from the Chief’s Association who shall be appointed by the Chief’s Association and shall serve for a one-year term;
A representative from the EMS Council who shall be appointed by the EMS Council and shall serve for a one-year term;
A citizen who shall be appointed by the County Commissioners and shall act as Chairman of the Board. The Citizen shall be a resident of Kent County, Maryland, shall have no current affiliation with a fire or EMS company, shall have leadership skills, and shall serve for a three-year term;
A citizen attorney who shall be appointed by the County Commissioners. The citizen attorney shall be a member of the bar of the state of Maryland; shall be a resident of Kent County, Maryland or shall maintain an active office in Kent County for the practice of law; shall have no current affiliation with a fire or EMS company; and shall serve for a three year term; and
The Director of the Kent County Office of Emergency Services who shall serve as long as he or she is the Director.
Notwithstanding the above, there shall not be more than one member from each respective fire company and rescue squad on the Board.
A quorum of the Board shall be a majority of all members thereof.
The Board, subject to the approval of the County Commissioners, may from time to time employ or contract with such personnel as the Board may consider necessary to properly administer the functions of the Board.

The Board shall approve and enforce county-wide policies and standards for fire protection services and emergency medical services

The Board shall have authority to withhold funding from any fire or EMS company in order to ensure compliance with approved standards. The Board’s authority in this regard shall be exercised as follows: From the date of the adoption of a policy or one or more standards by the Board, each fire and EMS company will have one year to come into reasonable compliance. If at the end of one year a company is not compliant with the Board’s policies and/or standards, the Board shall withhold five (5%) percent of the non-compliant company’s funds and will appoint a review committee to determine strategies to bring the company into compliance. If at the end of the second year the company is still not in compliance, the Board will withhold ten (10%) percent of the company’s funds and will appoint a review committee to provide an alternative recommendation to the Board in order to ensure compliance.

The Board shall evaluate the EMS system annually, and shall make recommendations as appropriate to the County Commissioners regarding updates and improvements to the system. These recommendations may include, but are not limited to, staffing, priority dispatch, billing, evaluation of system progress, and the delivery of EMS countywide.

The Board may establish by-laws, procedures, and rules to facilitate carrying out its mission and responsibilities.

The County Commissioners are hereby authorized and directed, each and every year, to appropriate .0322 per $100 of the value of the assessable real property as set by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (full-year levy) for the use and benefit of the fire companies, ambulance companies, rescue squads, and/or other public safety providers.

The sum so appropriated shall be in lieu of any and all other funds to be paid by the County to or on behalf of the fire companies, ambulance companies, rescue squads, and/or other public safety providers.

All such funds appropriated by the County Commissioners pursuant to the above section shall be designated for the use of fire protection services, for the use of emergency medical services, and/or for both as determined by the Board.

The Chief’s Association shall allocate among the fire companies rescue squads, and or other public safety service providers all of those funds designated for the use of services relating to fire protection services. If the Chief’s Association is unable to agree on an appropriate allocation in a timely manner, then the Board shall allocate the said funds.

The EMS Council shall allocate among the fire companies, rescue squads, and/or other public safety service providers all of those funds designated for the use of services related to the provision of emergency medical services. If the EMS Council is unable to agree on an appropriate allocation in a timely manner, then the Board shall allocate the said funds.

The Board shall allocate among the fire companies, rescue squads, and/or other public safety service providers all of those funds designated for the use of services related to the provision of both fire protection services and emergency medical services.

In the event that the Board cannot agree on the appropriate allocation or distribution of funds, the County Commissioners may withhold funding.