With elections just a week away, Allen County citizens have all eyes on candidates. The current sheriff, Tom Williams, is running for county commissioner.
If elected, Williams promises to dedicate his time to repairing the current county’s budget, which has soared because of the ambulance budget — what Williams says is “without a doubt a big issue.”
The county’s budget has risen since the split occurred between Iola and the county sharing one ambulance service — leaving taxpayers concerned and paying more.
Williams believes the ambulance services should be merged with Iola’s fire department and believes that the current budgets for the individual services are outrageous.
Currently, the two services together are nearing $1 million.
“It is silly for the taxpayers to try to pay for the two services,” Williams said. “The voters and citizens can’t afford that, they need stability.”
Williams has been able to successfully keep the budget down in the sheriff’s department — an accomplishment he believes will help him as commissioner, if elected.
As sheriff, Williams handles the department’s budget. All the bills of the department “go across my desk,” he said.
Williams said he deferred hiring an additional officer specifically to conserve money.
TO RESOLVE the ambulance dispute, Williams said there need to be three meetings.
“One where the Iola Fire Department would come in, another one with Allen County ambulance services, and then a third with both to see how we could have a blend,” he said.
Williams, who has been called and is proud of the title of conservative, believes there is a business-like approach to the issue at hand that would fix the current problem.
“I know the government can’t run like a business, but we can sure try,” he said.
Williams noted that in the past, candidates have run on the platform of fixing the ambulance issue, yet taxpayers are still paying on two services that are losing money. Williams said he believes the reason behind persistent problem is a “personality problem and not a solution-oriented approach.”
In addition to his plan to work on the ambulance issue, he wants to bring more business to local vendors, something he has always tried to do as sheriff.
Williams is going into this race with one focus, to help taxpayers. His said his promise is “I won’t run again if I don’t get it resolved.”
