EMS to pursue revenue recovery through TRECS system

When Putnam County government took over control of local emergency management services at the start of 2020, it was looked on as an experiment.

And what an experiment it has been so far.

Besides having to navigate the transition from non-profit Operation Life to government-run Putnam County EMS, a global pandemic threw the whole experiment on its ear after just two months.

EMS Chief Kelly Russ actually started on the job about the time of the first cases of COVID-19 in Putnam County, so she and Deputy Chief Anthony Taylor have had a whirlwind 25 months on the job.

Not that it’s all been negative. Both Russ and Taylor were named to the Mobile Healthcare 40 Under 40 list in 2021 (an honor both had also received when they were still with Indianapolis EMS), and the county is continuing to get a clearer financial picture of what it means to run an EMS service.

However, Russ is hoping to utilize a tool to bring more money into the budget.

Since 2020, Putnam County has been using the TRECS program to help collect on unpaid bills by patients.

TRECS allows EMS to capture unpaid money from the state tax returns of those with delinquent accounts.

While Russ noted that the county has seen some small returns from this system, she has not been able to invest the time to fully utilize it.

“I wanted to be a part of the program, but I just didn’t have time to be part of the program,” Russ said.

As such, she proposed to the Putnam County Council this week to hire a part-time administrative assistant.

At a rate of $15 an hour and no more than 19 hours a week, Russ posited that the position would come at an annual cost not to exceed $16,000.

This would free Russ up from many of her current clerical duties to for the grant writing activities that she spends much time on, tracking certifications for local fire departments as well as more fully utilizing TRECS.

She noted that Clinton County, which is demographically similar to Putnam, collects about $35,000 annually through TRECS.

She noted that even through her limited use of TRECS, in recent weeks she has gotten “hundreds” of calls from people trying to get their tax returns back – the same people who would not return calls when it came to their unpaid bills.

While certain Council members expressed their dislike for adding a new expense at a time other than the approval of the annual budget, others noted that if the money begins to flow, it should pay for itself.

“The sooner we get it started, the sooner we get that money coming in,” Stephanie Campbell said.

Ultimately, the Council gave its blessing to move forward, though the funding for the position cannot be formally approved until May, once an additional appropriation has been advertised.

In other business, the Council:

• Approved the disbursement of $215,217.80 by Putnam County Treasurer Kathy Minnick to be split among all taxing units administered by the county.

The money, which is of unknown origin, has been on the books since before Minnick started as treasurer in 2017.

Following a recent audit by the State of Indiana, the county was given the blessing to disburse the money as it sees fit.

The decision was reached that, because the money is of unknown origin, it should be split proportionally among all of the county-administered taxing units, which also include townships and fire departments besides the county itself.

• Approved Bainbridge Elementary School teacher Charetta Coffman as a new member of the Roachdale Public Library Board. Coffman replaces Jerry Richard, who has moved to Florida.

• Discussed a future resolution to increase the mileage rate for county employees.

The county’s current rate of 48.5 cents per mile already exceeds the state rate of 42 cents, but still falls short of the federal rate of 58.5 cents.

The rate discussed on Tuesday was 50 cents, though Council members acknowledged that with high gas prices, the matter may need to be addressed again at annual budget time.

• Approved the appropriation of $3,649,348.50 in American Rescue Plan Act money.

While the amount was the largest any current Council member could recall, it was approved with little discussion, as the matter has already been discussed at length by both the Commissioners and Council, as well as the joint committee formed by the two in order to address ARPA funds.

The Commissioners recently approved funding for much of the county’s total ARPA amount of more than $7 million.

The Putnam County Council will next meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17 on the first floor of the Courthouse.