Allen County Commissioner Jerry Daniels asked for help Tuesday in keeping track of emergency management services.
“We have a contract that increases every year. We’re purchasing vehicles and now we’re doing matching grants,” he said.
Daniels said a spreadsheet could help track EMS expenditures such as vehicle purchases.
Daniels then suggested an advisory board be created to help manage the department’s affairs.
“It could have maybe one commissioner, citizens from the county, and maybe a city council member,” he said.
After all, “EMS can be a touchy subject,” he said.
Daniels’s plea opens the door for what Jonathan Wells suggested in his failed bid for a county commission seat — that of a county planner: A full-time professional administrator, much like Iola and Humboldt’s city administrators, who would oversee the county’s various departments.
The argument for a county planner is three-fold:
1. Their sole responsibility is to county affairs;
2. They have the expertise, and
3. They are a steady presence and not affected greatly by the makeup of the commission, which can change with elections.
In one sense, that chance for a change in the commission’s leadership is welcome because it protects against cronyism and complacency.
At the same time, the inherent disruption — especially with a commission of only three — can change the direction of the commission on a dime as well as cause a vacuum of institutional knowledge.
Another strong argument for a county planner is that it gives department heads someone to report to.
As is, EMS Director Michael Burnett and all the other department heads have essentially three bosses — all of whom have full-time jobs ranging from telecommunications (David Lee) to real estate (commissioner-elect John Brocker) to a helicopter service (Daniels.)
