Chattooga County Commissioner Jason Winters says that he is getting mixed reactions from Chattooga County residents regarding privatizing the ambulance service in the county.  Over 250 people showed up for the first EMS meeting held this month at the Chattooga County Civic Center.

Most of the reaction at that meeting was negative, at least from the members of the public that spoke at the meeting.  Winters is looking to privatize the ambulance service in an effort to provide more coverage for the county and to save money.  The ambulance service has increased fees and according to Director Herbert Dodd, done a better job at collecting fees over the past year. 

Both Redmond and Floyd Medical Center have proposed to provide ambulance service at no cost to the county, and to increase the number of ambulances stationed in the county.

Winters is planning another meeting on the subject for public input.