Questions Raised About the Private Use of Fayette County Equipment

At a special meeting last Thursday, Fayette County Commissioners Court approved a contract between Fayette County EMS and Real Deal Family Reunion.

The week prior, County Judge Dan Mueller approved a mass gathering permit for the event, which is scheduled for this weekend, Sept. 26-28. Mueller placed some conditions on the permit, including a requirement for on-site EMS coverage. The organizers agreed to pay for the service. The County Attorney’s office drafted the contract and presented it to Commissioners last Thursday.

“It’s an open-ended contract,” said Assistant County Attorney Blake Watson. “It’s one we can use with other providers in the future, if we would like, without having to specifically tweak it for each individual event.”

Fayette County will charge organizers $175 an hour for staging and ambulance with crew on-site and $150 an hour for an ATV staffed with medics. There will be three ambulances on-site during the height of activities. Fayette County EMS Director Josh Vandever said his department will team up with crews from other agencies to staff the event so that Fayette County crews aren’t stretched thin. Vandever said Fayette County EMS will serve as the lead agency and pass along pay to the other agencies that assist.

Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff asked if the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office has a similar contract with the event organizers for security services.

“(They’re) not hiring the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office to provide these services,” Vandever said. “(They’re) hiring the deputies independently. Each independent deputy is responsible for how they handle business.”

“It’s off-duty time for them,” Watson said. “They’re not hiring sheriff’s deputies to come out there in their official capacity.”

Watson said the contract was needed in case someone from the event needed ambulance transport.

Berckenhoff raised a concern about deputies using County equipment and their County vehicles while off duty and working private security.

“We’re going to have quite a few of our vehicles and our stuff out there,” Berckenhoff said. “It’s costing the taxpayers for them to be out there and we’re not being compensated for that.”

Berckenhoff said he was pleased with the EMS contract but said he would “go down a different road” regarding his concerns about taxpayerowned equipment being used for private security.