CLINTON — The DeWitt County Board on July 23 approved an agreement to bring Farmer City into the county’s EMS district.

“Chairman Newberg, vice chairman Redman, Dee Dee Rentmeister, the county administrator; I’d like to thank them for getting us through negotiations with PSI (Paramedic Services of Illinois),” said public safety chairman Lance Reece.  “They worked hard, and we came up with a pretty good agreement.”

Reece also acknowledged board member Christy Pruser, state’s attorney Dan Markwell and the trustees of the Farmer City Fire Protection District and their attorney, as well as the representatives of PSI.

“It worked out well,” Reece said.

Farmer City officials asked to join the county’s EMS district after learning the city’s current EMS provider was leaving.

Reece said without negotiations to bring Farmer City into the county’s EMS district, “this could have had a horrible outcome.”

“With the cooperation of everyone, we avoided a bad situation,” he told board members.

Farmer City’s intergovernmental agreement with the county for EMS services is good for eight years at a maximum 40-cent levy for Farmer City residents.

The agreement will not affect the existing levy for the rest of the county for EMS services.

“Ours will remain the same for the next eight years,” said board chairman David Newberg.

PSI will station an ambulance, EMTs and paramedics in Farmer City to handle calls there within the Farmer City Fire Protection District.  Estimated response times will be 4-6 minutes.

Farmer City will pay its current EMS provider on a month-to-month basis until PSI takes over sometime next year.

The county board voted unanimously to approve the intergovernmental agreement with Farmer City and the addendum to the county’s current agreement with PSI.