DRY RIDGE, Ky. -- Corinth, Crittenden, Williamstown and unincorporated Grant County have all agreed to share the costs of maintaining the Dry Ridge emergency services that serve their area, according to Dry Ridge Mayor Jim Wells.
"They all agree it's not fair that Dry Ridge is burdening the cost," he said. "The details they still differ on a little bit. Everyone has agreed to sit down at the table and try to work this out."
About a quarter of EMS calls made in Grant County in 2016 came from within Dry Ridge city limits, but the roughly $900,000 cost of running the emergency medical service fell solely on the city's taxpayers.
Wells made it clear in late November that the surrounding communities would need to find a way to chip in, or Dry Ridge would be forced to stop making runs outside city limits.
It was a prospect that worried Wanda Bedard, who lives several miles outside the city.
"There's not a whole lot of options," she said. "If there's no service, you put someone in your own car and drive them as fast as you can wherever they need to go and hope for the best.
Wells had proposed a deadline of Jan. 1, 2018, but said the surrounding cities' agreement to negotiate meant the timeline for a definitive deal could be slightly longer.
