Sen. Jack Latvala schedules EMS committee meeting

CLEARWATER — State Sen. Jack Latvala has scheduled the first meeting of a committee to appoint an accountant to study proposed changes to Pinellas County's emergency medical services system.

The meeting is set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the St. Petersburg College Epicenter, 13805 58th St. N, Largo.

Latvala and other members of the county's Legislative Delegation voted last month to set up the committee as a way to come to some understanding of the financial impact of two proposals to change the EMS system.

One plan, put forward by Pinellas County Administrator Bob LaSala, would change the funding formula the county uses to disperse EMS property tax revenues among the 18 fire districts that provide EMS. The other plan, created by two firefighters, Scott Sanford and Jim Millican, proposes to save money by having firefighter/paramedics take patients to the hospital.