Financing options for a new ambulance were presented to the Pulaski County Commissioners last month. Angie Deming with Republic First National out of Rochester explained that the company specializes in lease purchase agreements. “Really, a lease purchase is no different than a loan,” she explained. “The only thing that makes this program different than a loan is that a loan is going to have a fixed term; regardless of what happens here at the county, you’re required to make the payment. However, with the lease purchase plan, it has a clause that’s called a non-appropriation clause in it.”
That means that if the county should see an unexpected drop in tax revenue, it wouldn’t be obligated to keep appropriating funding. “Now, granted, I’m going to take the ambulance back, we’re going to try to resell it,” Deming added. “If there’s any overage, the county receives the overage back. If it’s short, then the county would be responsible for that amount.” She said lease purchase agreements for ambulances typically run for three to five years, but could go as long as seven.
EMS Director Bryan Corn said he’s looking at getting a remounted unit, rather than one built from scratch. He added that there is enough money for an ambulance in the 2019 budget. “So, essentially, if you guys were to decide to lease it and go that route, the money is already there,” he noted. “It’d just be a matter of whether it’s one big check or once a year.”
The commissioners said they’d take the financing options into consideration, when the county is ready to order an ambulance. They’ve also been looking at ambulance rental opportunities.
